Capricorn
by blissfullyfiction
Summary: An old friend of Jo seeks the help of Sam and Dean to hunt a monster that has been stalking her for her entire life. The Winchesters are then introduced to a new race of monster: the astrologicals. Creatures based off of the zodiac kill all who see them and control those born under their signs. The Winchesters soon discover the lengths they'll go to to help the new hunter.


**"CAPRICORN"**

 **A "Supernatural" fanfiction**

 **Written by Savannah Rose**

Dark hair, snow skin, young eyes. Rain drops met her leather jacket with a pattering sound, and she pulled her arms around herself, trying to hold whatever body heat she might have left. She may have pulled her jacket over her head hours ago, or perhaps walked with haste to seek warm refuge. But now she was weary from cold and soaked to the bone and no longer possessed the motivation nor the enthusiasm to do any more than she must. And she must, MUST reach her elusive destination.

It was a cold winter rain in Lebanon, Kansas. The drops came close to freezing wherever they landed, and wispy fog levitated over the thick, unkept grass. The ground was thick with both mud and weeds - a consequence of the gloomy weather and few travelers on this nonexistent path.

Nonetheless, she pushed forward, trampling down the weeds that grew nearly to her waist. Her leathery boots sunk into the slimy mud, making a grotesque squish sound with every step. She did not hear this, as her conscious mind was entirely elsewhere.

It was almost amusing to see her. How sweetly cradled she was in innocence, never having been doused in the blood of the world like most hunters. And yet, this woman, with a child's eyes, venturing through the rain, was about to be tossed into a reality where innocence was nonexistent. She was about to face horrors that few had faced before her. Yes, perhaps she had slain the occasional vampire or seen a monstrous werewolf once or twice. Perhaps she even had skin decorated with scars from past hunts. Still, she had yet to learn what being a part of this world - this life - really means. Now, she was about to flee innocence as though it were a lion, clawing at her heels.

She called herself, Ellie. She hated her real name and took pride in the fact that few knew it. "There is power in a name," she'd tell those who were brave enough to ask. "Don't give yours to just anyone."

She stopped abruptly when she reached an open field just outside of Lebanon, Nowhere. Her pale hands pulled a soggy map from her pocket, and thin fingers unfolded the mess. After 156 seconds of staring at the watered-down page, a heavy sigh escaped her purple lips. Her soft brown eyes searched the clearing hopelessly. Squinting to see the horizon, her eyes met exactly what she had been looking for.

Instantly her body revived and her energy flared, her pulse spiking just enough for her to hear it. She began to jog across the clearing, a blissful smile making its way across her mouth. Her eyes closed, and for a moment she was a child, running through a field in the warmth of summer, a warm breeze tangling her thick mane. By the time the chill of winter returned to her body, she had reached her destination.

Her destination was pretty literally a hole in the ground.

Well, not a bad hole. Not a wet one with worms and other gross things. But not a quaint Hobbit Hole either. No, this hole was a shelter. More specifically, this hole in the ground is where people run when fear strikes their hearts. It's where friends gather when they have no homes to return to. It's where all who are welcome will find rest, security, and the closest thing anyone in that life could call a home. Or at least, this is what she had been told long ago. It was for all purposes, both practical and emotional, a shelter. It was, literally, a bunker.

Ellie approached the large re-enforced door and lifted a shaking hand – shaking with anticipation, that is – and gave all her remaining energy to knock.

And then it rang. All through the bunker like a grim echo. Distinct from the sound of the rain: three knocks on the steel doors. Sam and Dean both lifted their eyes from their books and exchanged equally quizzical glances. Dean grabbed his gun from the table, almost without thinking, as habit had taught him to do. He jogged up the stairs and slowly cracked open the door.

There she was, her thick dark hair soaked in the rain, shivering from the cold. Ellie.

"What the-?" Dean looked over her shoulder to see if she was alone, confused as to how someone had just stumbled upon the bunker. "Look sweetie whatever you're selling we're not buying." He began to close the door, but she slammed her palm against it, holding it open.

"I am in need of your assistance, Dean Winchester. You and your brother. I was told you hunt monsters."

Dean lifted his eyes to meet hers with a look of intensity flaring within them. "Who are you?"

"A friend. Name's Ellie. I knew Jo, she was like a sister to me before she died. Always told me if I ever needed help it was the Winchesters I needed to call." She broke a smile through her shivers, hopefully glancing at the warm light creeping out of the bunker. She knew, even if he was still deciding, that his kindness would soon allow her to enter.

"You knew Jo?" Dean questioned, confirming what he had just heard. The girl nodded. He broke eye contact for a moment to think, but quickly opened the door wider as an invite for her to enter.

Her boots clicked on the floor as her shivering body swiftly passed through the door. Sam quickly rose from his seat at the sight of her. Dean could feel his confused expression land on them.

"This is Ellie, old friend of Jo," Dean explained as he took off his jacket, wrapped it around her shaking shoulders and led her down the twisted staircase into the bunker. If she was as close to Jo as she had claimed to be, she was already part of the family. Or at least, she should be. Dean knew in his mind that they would urge themselves to trust her more than a complete stranger, and yet, that was still exactly what she was to them. Sam approached her, and held out a strong, calloused hand.

"Sam," he introduced. Ellie reached out one clammy white hand to shake his, the other still wrapped around her iced torso. She had a firm grip, Sam thought, yet her knuckles were pained from the cold.

"Ellie," she answered, standing up a little straighter. He could tell she took pride in that name, and in the woman who owned it. Her deep eyes locked with his.

"So what can we do for you?" Dean asked, standing perpendicular to her and Sam. She paused for a moment, still locked in Sam's brown eyes, then suddenly turned her head to look at Dean over her shoulder. She looked at him with a glance that whispered, "Oh sweetie, don't ask stupid questions," and yet those words never left her lips, but were only passed through those night sky eyes.

"What do the Winchesters always do? Every day, from the beginning of ever? Hunt the monsters that live under the bed." Sam and Dean exchanged a glance. Ellie shrugged Dean's coat off her shoulders and pressed it to his chest. "If either of you gentlemen would fancy grabbing me a cup of coffee that would be much obliged."

Her forwardness surprised Dean, as it was quite contrary to the innocent child he had labeled her as. Sam, on the other hand, showed no indication that this was anything apart from what should be expected of someone new. Something in him radiated with her more, like he understood this stranger, in a way.

"Look sweetheart if you need our help we'll give it to you but don't go making yourself at home, we don't even know you," Dean said with a certain sternness in his voice.

"And yet you feel as though you do," she defended. "I wasn't exaggerating when I said Jo was like a sister to me. I used to work at the bar with her and Ellen, but I was her neighbor for many years prior. We grew up together. She was my best friend and when her and Ellen disappeared I –" she stopped, her voice beginning to crack, her eyes reddening with tears. "Look she told me to come to you if I ever needed anything and I've spent weeks trying to find this place." Ellie reached into her pocket and pulled out the soaked map and handed it to Dean.

"What is this?" He asked, gesturing with the map, eyebrows knit together.

"Open it."

He unfolded the soggy, overused pages. Sam leaned over his brother's shoulder to examine the article. Dean's eyes scanned the page and landed on a scribbled note in the corner: Jo's unmistakable handwriting, running down the page from the rainwater, but still legible.

" _If you've opened this, it means you're in danger, and I'm not there to help you. You can find the Winchesters in Kansas, they'll take care of you. Good luck. -Jo"_

Dean gently rubbed his thumb over her handwriting, feeling every dent in the map where Jo's pen grazed it, carving those words. His eyes watered a moment as he read the note over and over. Sam inhaled sharply.

"I'll grab you that coffee." Once Sam turned his back and headed towards the kitchen, Ellie came up behind Dean and read the note again herself. She could practically feel his emotion radiating from his body, but he did not let it show. He folded up the map in a haste and handed it back to Ellie. She cracked a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Consider me like a distant relative. You know, that one weird uncle who nobody knows about and never shows up to family events? I'm still a hunter, and you still let me through that door. That means you must've seen something in me. I'm not asking to move in, I'm not asking to be best friends, I'm not even asking you to trust me. You're just the only place where I knew to go."

Dean felt something stir in him that he couldn't explain. He wondered if he should've ever let her through that door, and yet he didn't regret it at all. He wanted to help her, but not for Ellie's sake – to honor Jo. If they couldn't save her, then the least they could do was save Ellie from whatever demons where haunting her footsteps. This was the only reason he didn't turn her away at the door, or at least that's what he told himself. Yet there was still something in him that he couldn't explain, a part of him that leapt to trust her, and he had not trusted anyone apart from his brother and Cas for a very, very long time.

"I'm going to go check on that coffee," a smile twitched at the corner of Ellie's mouth as she walked past Dean and into the kitchen confidently. Though there was an innocence and shyness about her, Ellie made it a point to seem intimidatingly confident, like not a thing in the world could put her off. She was brand new in the house of a stranger, and though she felt anxious in her bones, she moved like the world was hers.

The chair legs screeched on the wooden floors as Ellie pulled a chair out from the long, dark table. She sat across from Sam and Dean

"The constellations, you know they're alive, right?" Ellie questioned, eyes tilted over the rim of her coffee cup. Dean looked confused.

"How can a constellation be alive?"

"You know the gods? The ones from mythology which suddenly appear and raise hell? No pun intended," She smirked, and took another sip of straight black. Dean nodded.

"Yeah we've fought them before-"

"Exactly well they're like that and they rule the fate of people more often than we'd like to think. Which is why I came to you for help." Dean raised an eyebrow in question as Ellie took a large gulp of her hot drink. "Mine needs to be slain."

"Okay back it up a bit. You're saying these constellations are alive?" Dean asked, a wrinkle in his forehead from curiosity. Ellie nodded, then Sam chimed in.

"I mean it's not entirely far fetched, the lore associated with astrology goes back thousands of years, for some people it's practically a religion."

"Exactly," Ellie continued. "Mine is Capricorn, who is most prominent in the middle of winter. With my birthday coming up, this makes it an ideal time to hunt it down." Silence stretched between the three of them, each of their intelligent minds scanning their heads for ideas, trying to process everything. Dean glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eye, then his sight flickered down to the coffee sitting in front of him.

"It's hard to believe that after a lifetime of hunting there's still more out there that we've never heard of before."

"Still," Sam muttered, rising from his seat, "I'm going to go see if we have anything." As the clacking of his heels faded into the halls of the bunker. Ellie let her eyes meet the candy apple green ones looking back at her. A thousand words filled her mind, but none seemed correct to say in such a moment. Suddenly the words came up like vomit, and she couldn't stop them from leaving her lips.

"What happened to Jo," she choked out, her voice quiet and shy, cracking as she spoke. Dean's eyebrows furrowed and he looked down at the table, as if it would offer him something better to say than the truth. It mattered not that he had addressed it so many times, arguing with himself over it, he still felt in the pits of his heart that it was his fault that Jo was gone. Dean's own voice was shaking, like the dam holding back his feelings was about to break.

"She sacrificed herself… to save us. Her and Ellen both."

Two single drops of water overflowed the rim of her eyes and patted as they landed on the table, seeping into the fleshy wood where Sam and Dean had carved their initials. She smiled, a genuine smile, her white teeth flashing through her red lips, and her eyes quickly darted to the ceiling, as if she hoped the heavens would open up for her. She laughed.

"Of course she did, she was Jo. She wouldn't have gone out any other way." Her smile tapered out when she completed her sentence. Her knuckles whitened as she tightened her grip on her coffee mug, hoping it would provide some stability to the situation.

"I can't speak for Sam, but I'm hoping if we can help you-" Dean stopped his sentence, not wanting to unfold a layer of his heart to this stranger, yet his words persisted, "If…if we can-

"You want to honor her in some way," Ellie completed the thought, eyes darting to the side of her crossed arms. Dean's weary head nodded along. Sam's footsteps became apparent again and he quickly wiped the salt water from his eyes and cleared his throat. Ellie did the same.

"So what do we know about these creatures?" Dean asked with a furrowed brow as his eyes met with Ellie's once again. Sam came up from behind him and dropped a stack of books on the table between the two. The pile contained near every book on astrology and astronomy and in their libraries.

"This is all I could find, and it's not much." Sam pulled up a chair beside them.

Ellie gave the immense pile of dusty books a once over, then with a subtle smirk, pulled out her own book and gingerly placed it on the table in front of her. The soft leather of her journal made a sweet sweeping sound on the worn wood of the long table.

"I'll tell you what we know," Ellie began, "I've spent years studying them, gathering intel. And first of all, they're called astrologicals." Ellie flipped open the cover of her tattered and dusty journal and flipped through several pages before landing on one. Almost illegible, it was covered in scribbles and quick drawings from past hunts. One glance and the Winchesters could tell she knew how to handle her business of hunting. She took another swig of her steaming coffee before jumping into lecture.

"The astrologicals are beings that closely represent their astrology counterparts. Each one is closely drawn to the individuals born under their sign, and at significant points in a person's life, the astrological may choose to dictate their fate. This does not mean that other astrologicals don't have an influence, but the ones matching a person's sign typically have the greatest. And once they choose to influence a person's life, it becomes almost like a frenzy. It's hard to stop. They'll keep going, changing a person's fate over and over. And they rarely show themselves. As far as I can tell when they do reveal their true form, none lived to tell the tale. Except me. I'm the only one. So now it's trying to hunt me." Ellie rambled on about the creatures, teaching Sam and Dean like they were grade school children. You could tell she knew what she was doing, her voice floated over each word as though it was spoken a hundred times over. Her eyes flared with passion, and enthusiasm.

Dean had to focus, trying to hang onto every last word. Sam just leaned forward, dedicating all his attention to her. He noticed the way she spoke, her mannerisms, her personality. What caught his eye most was her deep enthusiasm for the hunt.

"From what I can tell, they prefer dark, cold places over anything else. And if they're going to make their appearance they're going to make it close to the birthday of the one whom they're bound to. My birthday is coming up soon, and I'm beginning to close in on Capricorn. This is why I need your help."

"Wait so if you know so much about these creatures and have been hunting yours for years, why DO you need our help exactly? I mean no offense, it's always great to meet more hunters, but you seem like you'd prefer to be on your own." Dean popped open a beer as he finished his inquiry, and took a swig from the bitter glass without breaking eye contact with Ellie. Sam broke his silence for the first time since Ellie's lecture.

"Yeah, why do you need us, Ellie?"

Ellie paused for a long moment, staring at nothing, trying to gather the words that formed a lump in her throat.

"I came to you because I had no other choice," Ellie complained. "I tried hunting on my own. I tried so hard, I really did. I spent years tracking it down and when I finally closed in…well…" Ellie stood from her chair and turned her back to the Winchesters. She lifted her blouse, revealing skin that was littered with scars. It seemed as though her skin had been ripped apart and sewn back together.

Sam swallowed a lump in his throat as she revealed her weaknesses to them so bravely. As horrid as it was, he couldn't tear his eyes away. It was somehow…beautiful, almost. How she trusted them with her vulnerability.

Dean, on the other hand, couldn't stand to look at them. It made too many memories come running back into his mind. While they had only met hours prior, he somehow viewed her as something he wanted to protect. And though she had only just entered their lives, those scars somehow broke his heart to see.

Ellie swallowed her tears as she felt their eyes on her scars. She lowered her blouse, and turned back to face them.

"Hey." Sam choked out, lifting his brown eyes to meet hers. She felt something resonate between the two of them, like she had locking eyes with him before, yet she did not speak it. He comforted, "It's okay. We're going to keep you safe this time."

Sam wanted to fold her tattered body into his strong arms, but he dare not say it, let alone do it. She felt like family already, and though she was a new being to them, it had been a long time since they had let a new hunter into their close knit clan. Without explanation, for reasons they could not find, she belonged there. She belonged as a hunter, as one of them, as part of their family. For in those few moments she had walked into their lives out of the rain storm, she had displayed the bravery of all who came before her, whether she realized it or not. She was as humorous as Bobby, as loving as Ellen, as rebellious as Claire, as free spirited as Jo, and as stubborn and loyal as Cas. Thus, though they had only just met, they felt as though they had known her for many years past.

She belonged.

"So, where do we start?" Sam questioned, folding his arms and leaning slightly over the table.

"Lucky for you, I already know exactly where Capricorn is. Well, the general vicinity at least." Ellie sat down and pulled her chair back up to the table. "Santa Rosa."

"California, not too bad," Dean acknowledged, but Sam narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at the smile peaking from the corner of Ellie's mouth.

"I don't think she means California," Sam perceived. The smirk on Ellie's mouth widened into a smile as she shook her head in agreement.

"Think a little more down South," she snickered.

"Mexico?" Dean raised a brow.

"Try Argentina."

"What?" Dean said in a firm, demanding tone.

"Tropic of Capricorn, of course. I know it's not your usual thing, but-"

"You bet it's not our usual thing! Look sweetie, we may be the men of letters but if you think we've got the greens to travel that far, you're way off base."

"You Winchester boys seem to frequently forget that you have an angel up your sleeve."

"Cas? We haven't heard from him in a week, pretty sure he's in Norway taking down some Norse God."

"And besides that, there are men of letters all over the world dealing with monsters, it's our job to take care of this area, local," Sam interjected. Ellie sighed in frustration.

"The men of letters don't know about the astrologicals." Silence briefly radiated between them.

"What do you mean they don't know? Why wouldn't they know?" Dean demanded.

"Well, they do know, but they won't do anything. You weren't the first person I went to for help. I'm smarter than to have a scribbled name on a map be my first resort. You were who I went to after the Men of Letters wouldn't do anything. Because there aren't very many astrologicals, they decided that the millions of vampires and werewolves would be more worth their time, especially since the astrologicals are so dangerous and can control your fate. Cowards, if you ask me. So believe it or not, it is your responsibility and you already agreed to help me. So unless you're not men of your word, and are a lot less trustworthy than Jo made you out to be, you're going to help me. Got it?"

Silence again stretched between them all in a moment of hesitation.

"Okay."

"So…I guess we call Cas?" Sam asked, not seeing another option. Dean nodded.

"Guess so." He pulled out his cellphone and pulled up Castiel's contact. As he put the call on speakerphone, Ellie subtly smiled to herself. She was proud that she had convinced the Winchesters to help her, and if she was being honest with herself, she was somewhat surprised she had made it this far, or that they had even listened to her in the first place.

"Hello?" Cas's serious voice answered the phone, muffled through the speaker.

"Hey Cas," Dean replied, a slight smile peaking at the edge of his mouth. "How's Norway?"

"Cold," Cas muttered. "Is this important? I'm kind of in the middle of something." A loud grunt could be heard in the background of the call, and everyone exchanged nervous glances between themselves, then crowded around the phone.

"You okay, Cas?" Sam asked, concerned. His eyes lifted to meet Dean's, who looked equally worried.

"Yeah – erg – I'm fine," Cas replied, clearly troubled. The thud of punches landing streamed through the call. "Just dealing with the henchmen of a Norse God."

"Well I know this is a bad time to ask, but I don't suppose we could trouble you for transport in the next couple days? We need to reach Argentina," Dean continued, still somewhat worried for Cas, yet confident he could handle himself.

"Argentina? I wouldn't go there this time of year…You're not hunting Capricorn, are you?" Cas questioned, his voice out of breath. Dean's eyebrows knit together and his eyes darted to Ellie, who quickly looked away from his glance.

"You know about Capricorn?"

"Yeah, some girl prayed to me about them yesterday, they're nothing to mess around with."

Sam and Dean both stared at Ellie, who shrugged and smiled nervously.

"Well, someone's gotta take it down sooner or later and we could really use your help," Dean continued.

"Unfortunately there's a small problem with my grace."

The three of them nervously leaned closer to the phone again, stressfully trying to figure out what was happening. If Cas had lost his grace, it was definitely no small problem. It meant he was human, just as human as they were, and just as defenseless. He wouldn't have it in him to smite someone at a simple touch, or the ability to heal from injuries quickly. Fighting a Norse God would be especially dangerous without a hunter's experience in combat. Castiel had often relied solely on his angelic abilities.

Before anyone could find out what was happening, Dean snatched the phone from the center of the table and took it off speakerphone, pressing it to his ear.

He hurried down the hall away from Sam and Ellie, his concerned voice faintly echoing, "What do you mean there's a problem with your grace?"

Sam and Ellie each sat back down at the table. After a brief quiet, Sam decided to acquire some useful information.

"So how do we fight the astrologicals?"

"It's simple," Ellie began, once again confident in her knowledge. "You know how you can make devil's trap bullets? Same concept. Except you carve into the tip of a bullet the shape of the constellation you're trying to take down. For Capricorn, it's pretty straightforward: You're going to carve a simple triangle. The hard part is you have to shoot them the number of times that there are stars in the constellation, which for Capricorn is 12."

"Well then I guess we should go ahead and start carving bullets," Sam answered, a half smile over how difficult this was going to be. He already accepted it to be a difficult task, but never questioned that they should help her. Besides, something new always excited him.

"Not that simple. The bullets have to be made of iron," Ellie said, a little nervous about how he might react. Sam's smile stayed present as he sat up straight in his chair.

"We'll find a way, don't worry," He said reassuringly. For some reason, he wasn't scared of these creatures she described, though he knew he should be. He was interested in another heavenly creature apart from the angels, and since they had never really been out of the country before, he was thrilled to visit Argentina. It was quiet for the next few moments. Ellie gently rubbed her fingernail across the edge of table, and Sam leaned back and folded his hands, each trying to pretend the silence was less awkward than it actually was. Both were simply waiting for Dean's return, and to find out what happened to Castiel. Finally, Sam spoke, trying to break the ice.

"So where are you from, Ellie?"

"Nebraska." She smiled a bit, lifting her eyes to meet his. "Lived there most of my life."

"So that's where you were born?"

Ellie paused for a moment, quickly looking down. Her smile dripped off her face. "No." The awkward silence re-established itself, and the conversation dampened. Sam didn't want to push her further, but after awhile she continued. "I was born in Texas, actually. But my parents grew up in Argentina. Both were hunters." Sam nodded along, unsure of what to say, but he liked listening to her talk. She acted as if she was about to say something else, but Dean re-entered the room and both sets of eyes turned to him. Dean paused in the doorway, taking in a deep breath, very obviously stressed.

"Hela took his grace," He finally blurted out, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Hela? Like…from Thor Ragnarok?" Ellie asked, and Sam snickered slightly. Dean glowered a bit.

"Except she's real and not Cate Blanchett. She's the goddess of death, and without his grace, Cas doesn't stand a chance against her." Dean placed his phone on the table slightly too hard, and ran one of his hands through his hair.

"Well did you tell him he needs to get out of there?" Sam asked, a twinge of concern in his voice.

"I tried but the call cut out."

"Well if we don't hear from him by the end of this hunt, we'll get ourselves a ticket to Norway and go save his ass," Sam suggested, like it was the obvious, logical choice. Dean nodded slightly. "We have to let him see how he can handle himself on a hunt eventually."

Solemn silence filled the space between them as Dean processed everything that Cas had told him. No grace, no other hunters to protect him. He was completely vulnerable out there, and part of him wanted to jump on the soonest flight out there. They were going to have to go save his ass, Dean was sure of it. It was only a matter of how long they could wait before the situation became dire.

"So…I guess you two should start packing," Ellie said with a slight smile, trying to change the subject and ease the tension. Dean stood still, arms crossed, eyes scanning the hard wood floor. He didn't hear her, his brain drowning in too much else. Sam looked to him, concerned.

"Dean?" He muttered, worry in his voice. Dean finally broke out of his trance and looked up at his brother. "Let's get packing." Sam walked over to Dean and ushered him down the hallway, leaving Ellie to her own devices for awhile.

"So uh, what's with you and new girl?" Dean asked Sam as he folded a Bob Segar t-shirt into his dufflebag.

"What, Ellie?" Sam confirmed, surprised. He raised a brow at Dean as he continued packing. "What about her?"

"I don't know," Dean shrugged, a twinge of sarcasm in his voice. "Seems like you have some obvious chemistry." Sam exhaled sharply, almost in a slight chuckle.

"We just met her like an hour ago. Besides, if we've learned one thing in these last few years it's never trust another hunter – ESPECIALLY one that just appears out of the blue."

"I don't know, there's something about her that's- "

"…different?...Yeah, I noticed that too," Sam continued, tossing a small bottle of hair gel into his bag.

"Probably just because she knew Jo, I guess." Dean paused for a moment, as if deep in thought.

"I guess," Sam continued, somewhat skeptical. Without further debate, Sam strode out of the room and down the hall. He turned in to a room on the right where a washer and drier were roaring with laundered clothes. Grabbing his shirt by the collar, he worked it over his head with ease and tossed it into the washing machine, which was already in cycle. As he bent down to pick up a basket of clean clothes that needed to be packed, Ellie walked through the doorway. He was startled by her at first, but she didn't even notice him. She had her headphones on, the guitar of _Back in Black_ clearly audible at the volume at which she was playing it. She took her own clothes out of the drier, still oblivious to the fact that Sam was there next to her. He watched her for a moment, taken aback by how she had made herself at home despite meeting them only hours prior. As he tried to walk behind her in the narrow space, his left arm slightly bumped her back, and it was only then that she noticed him. She let out a small gasp and turned to face him, her back pressed against the drier.

"Oh Sam, I'm sorry, I didn't even see you there," She smiled, shifting her headphones off of just one ear. She was clearly relaxed, comfortable.

"No no, you're fine," Sam stuttered out, trying to make his way past her without much conversation.

"I hope you don't mind, I was just trying to dry out my clothes, they were soaked from the rain and we have a long trip ahead of us." Her eyes scanned his chiseled, bare chest for an instant, and she bit her lip barely enough to be noticeable. They locked eyes once more, just as they had twice earlier, and just as before, something resonated between them. In the small laundry room, Sam only inches away from her, she could nearly feel the heat from his body. His eyes, in an instant, took in her face: how her white teeth gently bit the corner of her red lip, how her porcelain cheeks flushed so easily with blush in moments like this one. All in all, the exchange of glances lasted but a few seconds. Both being people of schedule and lacking the confidence level they each should have by now, their eyes broke away, and Sam stuttered out a sentence with the enthusiasm of a machine.

"Yeah sure, whatever you need," were the words that came from his mouth, though they were not what he rehearsed in his head. What _had_ he rehearsed in his head? It's not as if he was going to tell her " _Hey, we just met you, why are you in my laundry room?_ " And yet it felt unnatural to not be welcoming to her. He hurried out of the laundry room and Ellie turned back towards the drier, blush still flooding her cheeks. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and swallowed nervously. For some stupid reason, it was so easy to act confident when holding a fake FBI badge, and yet talking to anyone without hiding behind a fake name or fake identity was nearly the most uncomfortable event in the world. Ellie tried to forget about it, but the uneasiness still flowed within her, and her pulse raced.

"Wow."

The first word that Ellie could think to say when Sam and Dean lead her to their garage. She let her fingertips gently trail over each of the vintage cars they walked past, wondering which one she would have the pleasure to ride in. She analyzed every detail: the make, the model, the year, how new or old the tires were. She envied their vast collection, considering the only transport she had was the rusty truck sitting outside. Her truck was named Honey, and was fittingly the only "honey" in her life. It got her where she needed to go, but still, like every other part of her life, she longed for something better. She wondered briefly if the Winchesters named any of their cars, but dismissed it – it was probably just a girl thing.

Dean approached the beautiful Impala, which was gorgeous as it always was. Pristine on the outside, homey on the inside, filled with more memories and emotion than one could even start to imagine. Dean walked around to the driver's side door and gave the car a friendly smack on the roof.

"This is Baby," Dean began. Ellie smiled – apparently men did name their cards. He continued, "And she's mine. You don't scratch her, drive her, or judge her. In fact just don't even lay a finger on the outside."

Sam snickered a bit. Before Ellie interrupted.

"She's a four-door, hard top, 1967 Chevy Impala. Gorgeous," Ellie said, crouching down to look at the logo on the front grill. It was shiny, and had obviously been recently cleaned. Dean gave a slight eye roll at the comment, but was secretly impressed with her knowledge.

Sam and dean began to load up the car with their things, leaving just enough space in the back seat for Ellie to sit comfortably. Sam began to climb into the car and right as Dean was about to get in, Ellie stood in front of her door and cleared her throat.

"Can I help you?" Dean said sarcastically.

"You said not to lay a finger on the outside. Which means you get to open my door for me like a gentleman," Ellie replied, giving him a little wink. He smiled a bit and laughed, before deciding to humor her and open her door. She climbed in, situated herself comfortably, and the trio was on the road in no time.

Baby's engine purred softly as she glided down the asphalt, which grew warmer with every mile they headed South. Dean sat with one hand at 12 o'clock on the wheel, the other at 3, his green eyes fixed on the road. They were still, focused, and yet filled with so much depth. He was the very meaning of the phrase "eyes are the windows to the soul." As tough as he may act sometimes, his body language made him nearly an open book. His thoughts poured themselves out like a flood, without him having even the slightest knowledge of it. It was beautiful, in a way, how unaware he was of his emotional vulnerability.

Ellie's eyes shifted from Dean to Sam.

Sam sat in the seat in front of her. The aged leather squeaked subtly as he repositioned himself. His thick hair cushioned his head as he rested it against the window, and a rustle in his throat could barely be heard with every other breath. His heavy, sleeping eyelids concealed the eyes that were hazel one day, and another day were unmistakably chocolate. Even when open, his eyes closed up the rest of him, like windows that were locked. While Ellie felt she somehow understood Sam, she hardly knew a single thing about him, and couldn't figure out anything just by looking. She thought for a moment that some depth of his soul seemed to be housed in the wrong body. The thought quickly flickered away and she wondered if someone might look at her and think she was a closed book. Perhaps that was why she felt as though she related to Sam. They were two people who you couldn't consume in a glance.

Ellie turned her gaze back to the comic book she was holding in her hands. She had found it under one of the front seats and had intended to read it hours ago, but instead it continued to rest in her hands as she stared out the window and listened to Dean's music. Her thumbs were beginning to make dips in the page where she held it. The title read: " _More Brand New Whirlwind Adventures of Batman and Robin."_

The air was beginning to feel heavy with humidity, so she knew they must be getting close to the border of Mexico.

Hours later, Dean's eyes felt heavier than they looked, and all in the car knew it. It wasn't long before those eyes started slowly making their way shut, and the car began to swerve into the parallel lane.

"DEAN," Sam shouted, reaching across to grab the wheel, and frantically yet slightly turning it back towards their lane. Dean jolted upright, his eyes suddenly wide and a frown on his mouth. He was clearly more surprised than anyone else.

"Why don't you let me drive for awhile," Sam suggested.

"Since when do I ever want you to drive?" Dean remarked, scowling slightly. Ellie leaned forward in her seat.

"I know you've driven across the states many times before, but this is a five, nearly six day drive. You can't just stay awake for five days," Ellie reprimanded. Dean's shoulders sank slightly as his eyes stayed fixed on the road, now alert from the shock of drifting. He sighed slightly.

"Fine. You can trade with me in Monterrey." It was about three hours away, just into Mexico, but no one was going to fight him at this point. Besides, he was startled awake now anyway. Still, Sam hit the plastic black power button on the radio in an attempt to keep him conscious. He scanned through all of the local stations for a bit, trying to find something they were familiar with. Suddenly, a familiar tune flowed from the radio, and as Sam turned the knob on the volume, the intro melody to _Werewolves of London_ filled the car.

Dean's eyes flicked to Sam who still had one hand on the volume and a slight smile peeking from the corner of his mouth. The smile dropped when he noticed Dean's face and he shrugged, with a joking expression. The smile gradually reappeared as the song continued.

Ellie smiled from the back seat, brown eyes tilted above the third comic book she'd read so far. Dean rolled his eyes and suddenly the whole car was filled with laughter as all three sang (horribly) "Awooooooo, werewolves of London. AWOOOO." In the middle of the stress of the trip, there was laughter. And in this middle of this laughter, Sam's head turned ever so slightly that he happened catch Ellie out of the corner of his eye. Her head tilted back in laughter, her red lips spreading the width of her blushing face and her soft brown hair cascading down her back. She was absolutely carefree in that instant, and because of that peace that flickered through her she was so much more beautiful than she could've possibly been in any other moment.

Sam's eyes darted back to the dash, not lingering on Ellie for more than a second or two. Still, his pulse quickened subtly like a haunting of that invisible moment between them.

Sam and Dean had both driven for what seemed like an eternity, and since Dean was hesitant about Ellie laying a finger on the wheel of his precious Baby, they all agreed on stopping at a motel for the night. They had reached Tuxtla Gutierrez – a major city near the southern tip of Mexico – without stopping yet. It was an impressive feat to make it that far, and now with cramped legs and tired eyes, they were desperate to stop.

Sam pulled into the parking lot of the cheapest place they could find: Diverxo Hotel y Villas. The Impala made a pleasant little bump as she came to a stop, and the three hunters climbed out of the car. They all groaned slightly as they stretched their legs, exhausted after being cooped up in the car for nearly two days. Their trip was barely a third completed, and they were all trying to ignore it.

"I'll go see if they have a couple rooms," Sam sighed as he walked lazily towards the entrance. Dean and Ellie both leaned against either side of the Impala, taking in the heavy warm air. The humidity stuck to their skin and made Ellie's dark hair curl into ringlets on either side of her face. The sky was painted a rich purple, about to fade to navy. Traffic could be heard coming from the bustling city, and the dense lights belonging to it crowded out any stars that might've been seen. No words were exchanged between Dean and Ellie. They had each exchanged as many words as were within them on the long trip. They had told all stories worth telling, trying to fill the quiet voids between cities. Sam soon returned from the front desk.

"They only have one room left," Sam groaned, still exhausted from the drive. Before Ellie could speak, Dean answered him.

"That's fine, one of us will just have to take the floor." He made no glance in Ellie's direction as he spoke, and without further words, they all moved towards the entrance.

As they entered their single room, there was a single king-size bed. Sam and Dean each plopped their duffle bags on either side of it and sat on either edge in synchronization. As Ellie dragged her suitcase through the door, he stopped in front of the massive bed and placed one hand on her hip, huffing slightly.

"Well, I'M not taking the floor," Ellie demanded, giving them a slight scowl. Sam and Dean exchanged a glance, and then rock-paper-scissored. She thought they were competing for the bed, but in fact, the victor took the floor. She rolled her eyes.

"Winner gets to avoid sleeping with me? What gentlemen," Ellie sarcastically remarked. All three cracked a smile and Ellie dragged her suitcase to her side of the bed.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back filled the hotel television screen later that evening. The trio sat in a row at the bottom of the bed, each with their own beer in hand. Dean leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, eyes fixed on the screen, his bottle held loosely by the neck between the index, middle, and thumb of his right hand. On his left shoulder rest Ellie's head, confident and comfortable enough to let her guard down around them. To the left of her sat Sam, who was positioned same as Dean. His eyes broke from the screen for a moment to flick over to her, briefly watching her chest rise and fall with sleepy breaths. He looked away before Dean could notice.

Ellie soon woke, and scooted herself to the top of the bed where she peeled back the corner of the blankets and climbed underneath. The Winchesters took this as a cue to quiet down for the evening. Wordless, Dean turned off the tv screen, and grabbed a pillow from the side of the bed opposite Ellie. He moved to a little patch of floor beside the bed and lied down, the floor squeaking as he did so. Within a few seconds, he was snoring.

Sam clicked off the lamp on the bedside table, and climbed into bed as far apart from Ellie as he could be. She was curled up, facing away from him. She felt his body heat no more than a foot away from her, and it felt familiar, like his own heat carried a fingerprint. It was specific to him. It radiated like a flame through the overly air-conditioned room.

Ellie lied awake, eyes open, trying not to think of what it would be like to scoot a few inches towards him. She remembered his bare chest on that day in the laundry room, how his abs barely showed through his skin. They were surely glistening in this heat of Mexico, but she tried to push that image out of her mind and get some rest. That's what she told herself to do, and yet, she spoke without thinking.

"You looked pretty disappointed when you lost rock paper scissors earlier. Am I truly that awful to sleep next to?" Her whisper broke through the darkness, flecked with flirtation, and she wondered for a moment if Sam even heard her, since she was facing the other way. She wouldn't have cared even if he did think it was awful to sleep next to her, but she was trying to break the ice. Back at the bunker, she had already had emotional conversations with Dean about Jo, but she had yet to dip her fingertips into whatever lie in Sam's heart.

"I was under the impression that the loser slept on the floor." Sam's husky whisper was closer to Ellie's ear than she thought it would be, and she smiled. She didn't know if the disappointment she had seen was from him thinking he had to sleep on the floor, or if he was just disappointed he thought he wouldn't get to sleep with her. She smiled slightly, allowing herself to believe what she wanted to believe. Sam had situated himself in the bed in such a way that not one part of his body touched her. Ellie thought about how gentlemanly he was being, and how any other guy - including Dean - would've probably invaded her personal space.

She rolled over, staying on her side of the bed, expecting Sam's eyes to be closed. However, when she repositioned, she found that the dim city lights shining through the curtains were reflecting off of two dark eyes looking back at her. His eyes seemed to suck her in, like a portal to a place where she somehow knew she would belong.

Neither Ellie nor Sam moved or spoke again for some time. In the intimate space, shrouded by darkness, they allowed themselves to indulge in the eye contact they had been stealing in pieces the whole trip. After what seemed like an eternity, Sam finally spoke again.

He broke away from her eyes as he whispered, "I've gotten used to sleeping alone." He didn't know exactly knowing where he was going with the thought. He said it like it was a positive thing, like she had reminded him how peaceful it is to have another body beside you. Ellie didn't answer, but smiled slightly, and rolled back over. This time, however, she allowed her back to barely brush against Sam's chest, her tank top the only thing separating her skin from his.

Sam fell asleep thinking of the faint cinnamon smell that he deduced was coming from her hair. Ellie dozed off thinking of how comfortable his warmth was. Both dreamed of successful hunts and happier days.

Surprisingly, Dean was the first to wake the next morning. He was not an early riser, and the morning was not young, but Sam and Ellie were still fast asleep. Neither had slept soundly the whole night. Tossing and turning, each both drawn to the body heat of the other but neither one brave enough to take it. Dean remained completely unaware of the previous night's conversations, and in his sleepy state of mind, it didn't even occur to him that something may have happened between his brother and the stranger. In fact, he didn't wonder about the two of them at all, that is until he glanced over at the bed…

In the king size bed that truthfully could've fit a small family, Ellie and Sam were comfortably situated in the middle, no more than a few inches apart. The white sheets caved in around them, both facing towards the window where the sun was peeking through the curtains. Ellie was laying in a beautiful mess of her raven hair, one arm under her head, and the other wrapped around her torso. Sam lied next to her, one arm extended out slightly, leading to where his hand barely rested on Ellie's hip.

Dean stared at them for a moment, his brain not entirely sure what to make of it. Sam's sun-kissed hand, barely brushing the porcelain white skin peeking out from the bottom of Ellie's tank top. Both were still sound asleep.

Dean smiled slightly, a part of him happy for his brother. The other part of him was unsettled and confused for reasons he could not place. But he decided that feeling didn't matter. He looked away from them, eventually deciding not to make much of it. He lazily walked into the bathroom without giving it another thought.

A few hours later, all three were sitting at a booth in a road-side diner. Foreign music lulled through the speakers as all three sat in a sleepy silence. Whatever sleep they had gotten was not nearly enough to be satisfying. All three were sipping the coffees that had been set before them, hoping to gain a small bit of energy before the long day ahead of them. A waitress came over and placed breakfast platters in front of each of them, the porcelain plates softly clattering against one another. Everything set before them looked delicious and smelled like home. After a bite of eggs (over medium), Sam finally broke the silence.

"You know Ellie's going to have to drive eventually," Sam said casually, his mouth still full of food. Dean, paused for a moment, looking up from his plate. Ellie smiled at him, eager for a chance to drive the gorgeous Impala, even if only for a few hours. Dean sighed subtly.

"Fine," He said, realizing that there wasn't really another option. Ellie smiled wider, excitement filling her stomach, but making sure to maintain her composure. "But you'd better take care of my baby or so help me- "

"I'll take good care of her, promise," Ellie interrupted. She took a bite of her toast with jam, eyes working their way back to Dean's. She swallowed and leaned forward slightly, wrists resting against the edge of the table. "And besides, I wouldn't want to be on your bad side, now would I, sweetie?" She raised her left brow at Dean, her voice sliding from her red lips like fine silk. A flirtatious half-smile peeked from the edge of Dean's full lips. Sam choked on his pancake a little.

Ellie situated herself behind the wheel of the Impala, a slight whistle of admiration escaping her lips. She let her hands rest on the leathery black steering wheel, savoring every touch. The car had a rich, dusty smell to it, and she enjoyed the way the leather seats squeaked with every move. It reminded her of her teenage years when she worked as a valet driver. She was always eager to transport the luxurious vintage cars that had been well cared for. She dreamed of having her own someday, but was grateful for her beat up truck that got her wherever she needed to be. She reached out the window and was adjusting the side mirror when Dean's voice echoed into her daydreaming.

"Not one scratch, Ellie," He threatened, looking over to her from the passenger seat. Sam chuckled softly from the back, and Ellie repositioned the rear-view mirror in a way that she could now see him. She glanced away quickly, her eyes now fixed on the open road.

"You worry too much," she smirked. She turned the key and relished in the sweet sound the engine made as it started. It was a deep, comforting groan. She wondered for a moment how many people had had the pleasure of turning that key, starting that car. In just moments, they were pulling away from the diner.

Dean pulled out one of his CDs and was about to pop an AC/DC album into the stereo, but Ellie playfully pushed his hand away.

"Ah ah ah, don't you know the rules? Driver picks the music," she teasingly scolded him. Dean frowned and opened his mouth to speak before she interrupted, " – And shotgun keeps his mouth shut." Dean tilted his head down and smiled a bit to himself.

"Alright, what do you want?" He humored her request.

"Well, what've you got?"

"Probably nothing you'd listen to. I've got AC/DC, Guns 'n Roses, The Cranberries…"

"Hmm… Do you have any Black Sabbath?"

The request surprised Dean a bit, but he found himself smiling once more. He complied and popped in _13._ The sound of _End of The Beginning_ flooded through the speakers. Sam smiled at Ellie through the rearview mirror, but didn't linger long enough for her to notice him. He was pleased that she was getting along with both of them.

They drove for several hours without incident. The roads were straight with nothing more than a tumble weed crossing every few miles, and every now and then they would pass through a lush tropical forest before reaching another desert. They had passed from Mexico to Guatemala, and they were now nearing the border where they would cross over to Honduras. The sun hung low in the sky but shined brightly, not beginning to turn red just yet. She had driven for 11 hours so far, and was enjoying every minute of it. Neither Sam nor Dean complained, they liked having the opportunity to be a passenger rather than driver.

The heavy sounds of classic rock soothed Dean into falling asleep, which satisfied Ellie. It meant he trusted her to take care of his most valuable possession without supervision. Sam also dozed off in the back seat, one hand gently resting on Ellie's rifle which lay on the floor board.

It didn't occur to Sam that he'd actually have to grab it.

Suddenly Ellie was braking hard. The tires screeched and Sam and Dean were thrown forward, startling them from their slumber. The Impala spun off the road, skidding across the ground, kicking up dirt in the desert between cities. The car came to a violent halt, and without missing a beat, Dean turned to Ellie.

"What the hell?! I said not a scratch, Ellie!" Dean barked. But Ellie would not look at him. Neither did Sam. Ellie's eyes were staring straight forward. Her face was whiter than white, her breaths quick and shallow. Her shoulders were visibly tense as she stretched her arm back towards Sam.

In an intense voice, she demanded, "My rifle…NOW!" Sam thrust it into her open palm.

All in the car now stared straight ahead at the beast that stood before them. It was at least 15 feet tall. Eerily straight, skeletal arms hanging at its sides. The oversized skull of a goat was all that made up its head. Black holes filled the places where eyes should have been, and those holes were infinitely deep. Torn black fabric and bits of rotting flesh hung from the skeleton that composed its body. From each of the bony limbs sprouted claws that were as long as a knife. Two demonic horns twisted in unnatural shapes from its forehead.

The beast standing in the road was unmistakably Capricorn. His bleeding black eyes glared right into Ellie's heart. Her hands shook, but only for a moment. She was not alone here. She was no longer a frightened child. She had the two most skilled hunters in the world at her side, and she was in his territory. She had come to kill him on his own ground. She held the power, not Capricorn. Whatever fear she felt within her quickly metamorphized into excitement. This was her moment. This desert was her stage. She would take back whatever bravery this creature had stolen from her. She held her gun at her side like it was a shield.

Sam and Dean both shifted their gaze from the creature to Ellie. She looked back at them. Neither were fumbling for their weapons. Neither were loading their ammo. Though the Winchesters were acting like clueless children, Ellie remained unafraid. She was confident in their presence, and a boldness flourished within her like a budding rose.

"You kids coming, or what?" Ellie snickered as she clocked her gun and opened the car door. The Winchesters' eyes widened as they watched their unpredictable little Ellie step into danger. No, she didn't step into danger… She _glided_ into danger like it was more of a home than she had anywhere else. Her black leather boots which came to her knees kicked up dust as she placed them on the sandy ground outside the Impala. She thrust the rest of her body from the car and kicked the door shut behind her. Sam and Dean sat in silence, not sure how to react or what to do, each just watching her.

"Sh-Should we help her? We should do something," Sam insisted. Dean sat in silence, watching her. She was walking towards the beast, rifle in her hands, onyx hair rippling in the wind behind her. Finally Dean snapped out of it.

"I don't know! You heard more of her lecture on them than I did, I don't know what to do except go out there, guns blazing!"

The sound of Ellie laughing interrupted them.

"Remember me?!" She screamed at the monster. "You took everything from me!"

"What the hell is she doing?" Dean frantically asked. Sam shook his head, equally confused. He broke his eyes away from the confrontation and started fumbling to put the iron bullets into one of his guns. Ellie was now lifting the gun to eye level. She aimed it at Capricorn's barren torso where she could barely see a dark heart beating through the scope of her rifle.

She whispered under her breath, "Now, I take everything from you."

She fired. The sound of her gunshot pulsed through the desert, making Sam jerk his head back up to see what was going on.

She had hit it, that was for certain. A piercing screech like nails on a chalkboard flooded the air. However there was no blood, no wound. In fact, there was no Capricorn. He had vanished, or so it seemed. Sam jumped out of the back seat of the car and Dean followed seconds after him. Sam cocked his gun and gripped it tight, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Where did it-" Sam began.

"Duck," Ellie said calmly but sternly, looking right at him. Him and Dean both ducked below the side of the car, and another gunshot later, more screeching could be heard.

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered under his breath. Neither him nor Sam were prepared for the teleportation act this creature seemed to pull. The moment they turned around to look at the beast, he was already gone. Ellie cocked her gun again and hastily walked over to them, standing between Sam and Dean and the rest of the desert. She looked around once more before letting out a sigh.

"DAMN IT!" She shouted, kicking dust on the ground in frustration. "I almost had him…"

"What the hell was that, Ellie?! You couldn't have waited for us?" Dean fumed. She whipped her head around to look at him, her black hair flicking her face as she did so.

"Waited for you?" She said as if he were telling a funny joke. "As you can see, there isn't time to wait around. You two were sitting there like five-year-olds who had never seen a monster in their lives!"

"It was just…unexpected," Sam defended. He was somewhat taken aback by her flaming temper, but the sound of his calm voice soothed her slightly.

"Look, I came to YOU for help, not the other way around. I need to know that you guys can handle this," Ellie continued with less rage in her voice and more desperation. She hesitated a moment before adding, "You know those are the only hits I've ever made on him? I've been hunting Capricorn my whole life and this is already the furthest I've gotten, my bullets actually hit something…"

Dean sighed quietly. He wasn't upset with her, in fact he understood her anger – accepted it, even. He knew they should've been quicker to act. Still, he felt defensive.

"We've got this. We were just surprised is all. Sam and I were both asleep before we even knew something was happening." Dean finished his sentence, and after a pause Ellie nodded in understanding. Sam could tell she was trying to keep tears from filling her eyes as her anger dissolved into disappointment and frustration. There was clearly more to her story than she had told them, and this creature had been a bigger part of her life than she had let on. Ellie climbed into the back seat of the car without another word. She rested her elbows on her knees, her head on her folded hands Sam closed the door after her and climbed in the passenger seat. Ellie's words echoed around his head: " _Remember me?"_

Dean slid into the driver's seat. It took a couple tries, but the engine started up with it's usual rumble. He adjusted the rear-view mirror and Ellie quickly wiped the salt from her cheeks, just as she did when Sam had walked in at the bunker. She wasn't one who liked to show weakness, and she was already embarrassed at her own emotional outburst. Dean didn't dare mention the scratches on his baby. The soft spot in his heart felt far deeper for Ellie than for his precious Impala, and his tenderness urged him not to upset her any further.

An hour down the road, Ellie had regained her composure. The sun had just set, the sky a navy velvet. The car had remained silent ever since the show down, but Ellie's words still remained in Sam's head… " _You took everything from me."_

"Ellie?" Sam asked gently. He didn't want to make her talk if she wasn't ready.

"Yeah?" Ellie responded casually. Her head rested against the window as she stared at the faint city lights on the horizon. Sam cleared his throat.

"What did you mean when you said he took everything from you?" Sam asked, tentatively. Dean glanced over at him, somewhat surprised by his boldness in asking such a question, especially when Ellie had just finished falling apart. Ellie kept her eyes fixed on the horizon through the dusty glass of the window. In the long pause before she spoke, Sam grew nervous that he had hit a nerve with his question.

"My parents were both hunters, they grew up in Argentina… Both were Capricorns. They were some of the first hunters who started looking into the astrologicals, questioning why the legends had such a cult following and such…I was 4 years old when I woke up in the middle of the night…" Ellie trailed off, remembering that night so distinctly…

She was only a child, on the eve of her 5th birthday in the cooler month of January. Her parents had dragged her to Argentina to visit relatives over the holidays. The small family was staying in a house they had rented out for a month: a cute little two-story beside a shimmering lake. It was so difficult for a child of hunters to experience any normal family activities. That holiday vacation seemed like such a luxury.

It was near midnight on January 7th when little Ellie heard a fumble downstairs. Young and naïve, she assumed her parents were setting out presents for her birthday. Perhaps they were doing it at midnight just like Santa Clause would. She whipped off her quilts and her small pink feet found their way to the wood floor. Seeing by the light of the glow-in-the-dark stars that covered her ceiling, she tip-toed down the hallway and stood at the top of the stairs. She wondered what gifts were waiting for her. Perhaps it was that new dollhouse she had wanted for over a year. That was when she heard a crash, followed by her mother's scream.

"Mom?" She called out, her voice sounding like that of an infant. There was no answer. Her mother's soothing voice did not call out to reassure her that everything was alright. Ellie's heart pounded in her ears, urging her to run or fight, but when the crashes continued, her childlike fear made her duck behind the corner of the hallway. She sat on the floor, waiting patiently for her father to come get her and take her to safety. He would come to rescue her like he always did. He had saved her from demons, werewolves, vampires. Ellie knew her dad would come and sweep her away from whatever horrors waited downstairs. It was only moments later when she heard him cry out as well.

"Daddy?!" Her voice quivered. She shouted for him without thinking. Tears were pouring down her face. Her parents' screams continued, travelling up the stairs, horrific and gruesome. Ellie covered her ears with her palms, sobbing violently, but unable to hear herself crying over the sounds of massacre and her own heartbeat. Finally, she pushed herself to move.

In her fuzzy pink pajamas, Ellie bravely crawled further down the hallway to her parents' room, where she found her father's gun under the bed. It was oversized in her small hands, but she fumbled with it until she held it the way her dad had taught her. A combination of bravery, adrenaline, and desperation fueled her tiny body. She ran down the hallway and readied her gun to shoot at whatever waited at the bottom of the stairs. But when she rounded the corner, it was no longer at the bottom anymore.

She was staring at a rotting body just inches from her face, and her baby eyes slowly worked their way up to see his skulled head. The white of his bones was stained with blood, blood she could only assume belonged to the people she held most dear. She screamed in terror, falling back onto her rear where she then scooted herself into a corner. In the fetal position at his feet, Ellie choked on her own snot and tears, shaking with sobs. She grabbed the gun from the floor and pointed it in his general direction, but when her finger squeezed the trigger, there were no bullets loaded to protect her.

Capricorn moved neither towards nor away from the child, but just let out that awful, ear-splitting screech. She pressed her palms to her sensitive ears, but blood trickled out from beneath them. The whole house shook from the particular soundwaves. She would realize later, when her adrenaline wore off, that her eardrums had burst from the sound. Capricorn disappeared at the end of his scream, dissolving into the air.

Ellie could not bring herself to move. She dared not walk down the stairs and witness what remained of her parents. She stayed curled in a corner, weeping, until the landlord found her 3 days later. The clawed, bloody footprints that led to where Capricorn had stood would be permanently imprinted on her brain, even 30 years later.

Ever since that night she could not bring herself to display fear. She told herself that if she acquired her bravery sooner, she would've crawled down the hall faster, checked the gun for bullets, and rescued her parents. Fear was weakness. Fear was what got her parents killed. Her cowardly behavior would not hurt those who she loved ever again.

Now, sitting in the Impala with Sam and Dean, telling her story escorted her back to that horrific place. She could hear the screams, smell the blood, feel the cold gun in her hands. The Winchesters listened attentively, but neither knew what to say except how sorry they were and how they knew what it felt like to lose parents. Ellie explained how her relatives in Argentina sent her back to the United States. No one there was willing to take her in, raise her like a child should be raised. She was placed in a foster home in Nebraska, where she grew up next door to Jo and Ellen.

"Why didn't Capricorn just kill you too?" Dean asked. Ellie knew he didn't mean to seem insensitive. He was just genuinely curious.

"I guess he still had plans for me."

"Like controlling your fate?" Sam chimed in. Ellie nodded.

"That's the only reason I can think of."

They didn't pry any further, and let Ellie rest for awhile. The mere act of telling her story put Ellie through the emotional wringer. A few miles down the road, Dean glanced at her through the rear-view mirror. She was sound asleep, curled up in her little corner of the back seat. He looked over to Sam.

"So are we gonna talk about-" Dean started, ready to ask Sam about the previous night with Ellie, but Sam cut him off.

"Nope."

They sat in silence for a few more moments, listening to the hum of the engine. Dean glanced at the rear-view again, making sure she was still asleep before he continued.

"She's a beautiful girl," Dean said in his weak attempt to draw words out of Sam.

"She is," He agreed, very matter-of-factly.

"And uh…" Dean let out a wolf whistle and gestured his hands in the air making an hourglass shape. Sam cracked a smile.

"Does there exist anyone who you're _not_ going to flirt with?" Sam asked, half joking and half concerned.

"All I said was she's pretty," Dean continued with a shrug. "I never said I'm going to try to hook up with her or anything," he defended, his hands making a soft pat as he shifted them on the wheel. The comment made Sam's skin crawl slightly.

"Are you?"

Dean went silent and Sam sighed and rolled his eyes very slightly.

"Look, don't screw this up. We could really use another hunting contact and to be frank, I think she'd make a pretty great friend."

"Friend?" Dean said, somewhat accusingly. "You're the one who's been makin' googly eyes at her since the bunker."

"I agreed with you, she's pretty! …But if you do what you normally do with women it's not going to end well and I'd really like to have her around," Sam pleaded with him.

"Sorry - I'm still caught up on the fact that you keep calling her a 'friend' considering you woke up this morning with your hand on her hip. How does that qualify as 'friend'?" Dean demanded, raising his voice slightly. He outed himself, not realizing what he said until it was out of his mouth.

"You were watching us?" Sam asked, a somewhat disgusted tone in his voice.

"It was morning! I was tired! I glanced over at the bed, it was kind of hard to miss!" Dean defended, raising his voice again.

"Keep your voice down… Look she's nice but I don't want anything with her. It was one night. It didn't mean anything."

Ellie's eyes were open in the back seat, secretly listening to every word. Part of her heart felt like it was filled with heavy stones that dropped to her stomach. She didn't know what she had expected Sam to say. After all, just because they stayed in the same bed didn't mean anything special. Sam was a hunter, and she was a hunter, and that was all they ever would be.

"I don't want to screw this up, but if anyone's going to screw it up it's going to be you and your world of one night stands. She's not like any one we've ever dealt with before and I don't want to drive her away." Sam paused his rant for a moment, taking in a deep breath. "I don't want her to get hurt." Dean's face grew solemn at the comment, eyes still and fixed on the road ahead. He knew exactly what Sam implied with that comment, and chose his next words carefully.

"…And everyone who gets close to us ends up hurt…"

Ellie's heart sunk with those words. She knew now that she would never get close with either of them, but at the end of the day they were only doing it to protect her.

Three days, two hotels, and no more shared beds later, they had arrived at Santa Rosa. The metropolis towered with sky-scrapers like New York City. Flat, grassy plains surrounded every outskirt. Ellie gazed out the back-seat window, her brain briefly wondering where in this other world was the house her parents had died in. The Impala and all within it sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the main road, the guitar of _Tom Sawyer_ by Rush filling the vehicle.

"So where do we start looking for the asshat?" Dean inquired, the wrist of his left hand hanging over the top of the steering wheel. He glanced over his shoulder at Ellie. Her sarcasm answered without shifting her eyes from the window.

"I thought he was sitting in the driver's seat."

Sam snorted at her reply, quickly composing himself after Dean shot him a glare. Ellie smirked, pleased with herself, moving her gaze to meet Dean's eyes in the rear-view mirror. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. There's a country club about a mile down this road. My parents used to be members there. That's where all the latest gossip is. It's where you'll find the rich trash with the parents who bail them out of jail; the ones who only go there to drink. You know the type. And believe me, once that crowd gets drunk enough they'll tell you just about anything."

"How do you know so much about this place, I thought you hadn't been here since you were like 5?" Sam questioned. Ellie leaned forward a bit towards his seat, trying to situate herself in a place where she could be more a part of the front seat conversation.

"I have a cousin who lives here. She thinks what people like us do is ridiculous and she doesn't believe in monsters, but she humors me sometimes with information."

"If she doesn't believe in monsters, what does she think happened to your parents?" Dean asked, curiously.

"She wasn't even born yet when it happened, but Miss Psychology Degree says that the trauma made my brain make up the monster to cope with their loss. She thinks that it was just some gang members who broke in and killed them."

Ellie talked about her cousin's theory so peacefully that it was obvious that she wished it were true. She wished that the monster was only a figment of her imagination. And some part of her, however small, wished for the life that her cousin had: a college degree, a well-paying job, a country club membership. There wasn't much that a hunter wouldn't give for a comfortable life, completely monster-free.

"We'll need to stop at our motel first," Ellie said, pushing her daydreams from her head to focus on the task at hand.

"Shouldn't we just cut to the chase and head straight to the high class land?" Dean asked. Ellie sighed, slightly annoyed by all of his questions.

"Say that again, slowly…" Ellie prompted him. He knit his eyebrows together and she rolled her eyes. "'High class land?' We need to look the part. And besides, the bars at the country club won't even begin to come alive until after dark."

A few minutes later, they were out of the traffic and pulling into the parking lot of a beat-up motel on the outskirts of the city. They had two rooms connected by a door: one for Ellie, one for the Winchesters. They entered their respective rooms and closed the doors behind them, enjoying the spacious and air-conditioned environment. It was beyond pleasant to be out of the Impala. However luxurious the vintage car may be, nothing compared to being able to stretch out their legs and be out of that confined space. They all savored their moments of rest until night fell.

Soon after dark, an alarm beeped on Sam's phone and the screen informed him it was 9:00. He finished buttoning his dress-shirt and rolled up the sleeves in the "cool guy" way that Dean had taught him.

"Didn't she say we needed to be ready by nine?" Sam called out to Dean, who was in the bathroom, busy checking himself out in the mirror. His hands ran a dollop of gel through this hair as he quickly glanced down at his phone.

"Yeah, I thought so," He replied, bending down to put on a pair of black shoes. Neither Sam nor Dean had prepared to look like part of the wealthy crowd, but they were able to make due with pieces of their FBI wardrobe. Only seconds later, Ellie knocked thrice on the heavy shared door.

Sam swung it open, and was taken aback by her beauty. As he looked her over, most words disappeared from his vocabulary. She was leaning casually against the door frame, looking absolutely breath-taking. Her hair sat in a sleek ponytail high on her head, which fell like a waterfall down her back. She wore a navy blouse that shimmered like the night sky and revealed her smooth shoulders. It had a loose neckline that hung low, but was tight around her small waist. Her black satin pencil skirt hugged her curves and black leather heels housed her feet which were wobbling from imbalance. She was not the kind of girl who frequently wore high heels.

"You're-she's-I mean- " Sam stuttered out. Ellie laughed subtly and blushed. Sam cleared his throat, smiled, and shifted his stance before saying, "You look great." He chuckled at himself, amused at how flustered she made him feel. Ellie made him feel like a grade-school child who was having his first crush. She grinned giddily at his compliment.

"Lookin good, Ellie," Dean casually flirted as he walked over, eyeing the low neckline of Ellie's blouse . She smiled confidently and gave him a small wink.

"Eyes are up here, sweetie," She said in a voice that was garnished with seduction, but mostly decked with the power that had caught Dean's eye. She knew she looked like the night sky itself had birthed an angel. His eyes remained on her neckline for a few extra seconds before he lifted his head to look back up at her.

"Hm?" Dean said, clearly too distracted by her breasts to hear her voice. Ellie and Sam both laughed a bit.

"Let's get a move on," Ellie smiled, and headed for the door.

Awhile later, they pulled up to the country club, waiting in a long line of cars to enter through the gate. The Impala seemed to be the only thing genuinely fancy enough to belong there. Bright lights shone from in and around the building and reflected off the lake that sat near it. Loud bass and laughter poured from the main building and into the night air. The three hunters were slightly intimidated, yet confident in their skills. Hunters always found a way, whether it was with millionaires or drunks or drunk millionaires. They could always crack just about anyone. As they marveled at the elite world of the country club, Sam quickly tore off the thrift store tag he noticed sticking out of the collar of Ellie's blouse. She blushed, slightly embarrassed.

As they pulled up to the front gate, music from within the club began to sound more legible. Dean rolled down his window and Ellie leaned across him.

"Andrea Perez?" Ellie asked. The Winchesters could only assume it was the name belonging to her cousin. The man at the gate scanned over a clipboard in his hands and nodded at them. The iron gates opened at the guard's command and beckoned the Impala to enter. The car glided through the entrance and parked just outside of the bar. Dean quickly stood up from the vehicle and straightened his loose tie in the side mirror. Sam also emerged from the car and opened Ellie's door, offering his hand to her.

"What a gentleman!" Ellie teased, and took his hand. She wobbled a bit on her heels but he steadied her. Dean looked over across the roof of the Impala.

"I'll let you two Spanish prodigies handle the investigation," Dean planned, glancing over to the lights. "Meanwhile I'll do my best to drink enough beers for the three of us."

Sam and Ellie laughed, and all three headed for the entrance. Upon entering, they nearly drowned in a sea of people. Women held clutches with designer names, the smell of perfume mixed with vodka swamped the air, men laughed over poker tables. The sound of _Intergalactic_ by The Beastie Boys filled the room. Once in, Ellie confidently left Sam's side and went straight for the bar, leaving the Winchesters to fend for themselves. She sat herself down on a leather barstool and spun to face the bartender.

"Dos golpes de vodka," Ellie smiled, placing a few pesos on the bar. The bar tender nodded and grabbed them, turning away to pour her shots. As she waited on her drinks, Ellie looked over her shoulder to survey the bar. The crowd was pretty diverse, and her eyes were tempted to follow the wealthy people with their colorful clothes. However, they were not the kind likely to give her the slightest dollop of information. She trained her eyes to look for the shadows, those dressed in darker shades, who would not be found in the middle of a crowd. Her focus was broken by a raspy voice, coming from a few barstools down from her.

"You speak English, Senorita?" Asked the man. Ellie turned her gaze over to him. He was dressed in a suit that was once black but had faded with years of wear. Sitting around the corner of the bar, beer bottle in hand, his body leaning away from the crowds, he was exactly the kind of low-life Ellie was looking for, and she already had his attention.

"Yes, actually," Ellie smiled, crossing her legs. The bar tender set her two shots of vodka on the bar top.

"Your accent…it's not very good," The man continued, running a hand through his greasy black hair that was long and unkept. Ellie smiled a bit.

"I take it from your English you're not from around here either?" Ellie asked, trying to determine if this stranger might be a reliable source.

"I'm a native to the area, senorita. My Padre came to this country from the states…business was better here… Met my mother in this very bar." He grinned at Ellie. "And where are you from?" Ellie slammed back her first shot before giving her answer, the potent taste still swimming around her mouth.

"Right now I'm from the a motel on the South side of the city," She craftily dodged his question. The man's eyebrows furrowed.

"Not a good time to be in that part of the city, miss."

"And why's that?"

"They say there is a creature in the desert. Long claws, head like a goat!" The man enthused, gesturing the shape of horns with his hands. "He kills all who near his domain…Every cold season!"

Bingo. Exactly what Ellie was looking for. They had come to the right place after all, and the part of her that was still doubting finally vanished. It was even closer than they thought, the desert just outside their motel. She couldn't help but smile to herself.

"And you believe in this creature?" She asked him. He nodded.

"The Chupacabra is very real."

Ellie snorted a bit, the sting of vodka now filling her nose. She quickly composed herself.

"The Chupacabra? Well I guess I'd better not mess with that," She humored him. Ellie looked over her shoulder to see Sam and Dean, sitting in a corner of the bar, talking amongst themselves. Dean met her eyes and flashed a smile.

Sam and Dean had been talking the whole time Ellie was at the bar, watching carefully to make sure she was safe. But after knowing her this long, the Winchesters both trusted she could handle herself in pretty much anything.

"Looks like she's got something." Dean interrupted their previous conversation, pointing to Ellie with the neck of his beer bottle. Sam turned his head to look at her, observing her talking to the man.

"You know, they say this bar is where all true romantics meet," The man said to Ellie as he reached over and placed his hand on hers. She whipped her head away from Sam and Dean, eyes now fixed on the man's hand on top of hers. She gently pulled her soft hand out from under his, trying to avoid showing her disgust.

"In my kind of job there's not really time for romance," Ellie said, slamming back the rest of her shot. She set the glass back on the table and stood up, ready to go report back to Sam and Dean, who were now watching her intently. She had just risen from her seat when the man grabbed her wrist, just hard enough that his knuckles turned white. Ellie whipped her head back around, a scowl on her face.

"Aw, don't be like that sweetheart," He said, leaning closer. With him in the light, Ellie could see now that he had less teeth than he really should. "We were having such good conversation."

She stared him down as she ripped her wrist out of his grasp. She stood in a power stance: legs parted enough to stabilize herself on the ground, arms hanging slightly away from her sides, shoulders confidently pulled back. Her breaths quickened and she could hear her heart starting to beat quicker. She refused to break eye contact.

"Do not touch me again," she threatened. Her eyes were like daggers. But it was clear the man had had enough liquid courage to not care. The message left him unphased. His sleepy smile and the smell of alcohol venting from his breath confirmed her suspicions about his drunkenness. She turned from him and started back towards Sam and Dean, her blood boiling.

She was only a few feet away from them when she saw the Winchester's eyes widen slightly. The stench of alcohol suddenly swamped her senses. She felt one hand grab her butt and heard the man take in a raspy breath near ear. She didn't give him the chance to speak whatever words he was about to say.

Her heart pounded. Her blood steamed. Rage and adrenaline bolted through her. Her handgun was pulled from her purse. It was in her palm. And without thought, it was aimed at his forehead.

"I said hands off," Ellie said, at peace now that she felt the cold metal in her hand. All conversations in vicinity came to halt. Gasps and murmurs could be heard, and people sprinted towards the exit in a frenzy. The creep's pupils were dilated, his hands slowly raising towards the air.

Ellie had drawn without a thought, instinct taking over her. She now felt the eyes of all left in the room staring at her, judging her. It had been too long since she had been in a situation where a threat couldn't be handled with a bullet. The muscle memory in her body urged her to pull the trigger, telling her to shoot the monster. Adrenaline continued to fuel every limb, her whole body rigidly tense. But her confidence wavered now, realizing that this was a human. A trash human. A human that maybe the world would be better without. But still a human. And in this moment, he had not yet revealed that he was one deserving of death. Still, she had begun her action, and every part of her told her to stand her ground.

"Ellie," Sam's calm voice filtered into her awareness. It was barely audible over the sound of her heartbeat. Without shifting her aim, she scanned the room quickly, being met by wide eyes of the innocents who she had frightened. She didn't notice Sam approaching from her left. He reached out his hand and gently lowered her gun.

The moment her gun was aimed away, the man ran behind the bar and fumbled to grab a phone, undoubtedly about to call authorities. Ellie's cheeks flushed red, realizing it would've been better to throw a punch than draw her weapon. Every part of her had wanted to kill him in that moment. Every part of her from the beginning of her childhood screamed "if it scares you, kill it."

She didn't look at Sam and Dean. Instead she pushed between them and walked out of the bar, her black heels clicking with her brisk walk. She heard a pair of boots rushing behind her to follow her.

"Ellie!" Dean called out. She was in the parking lot now, under the navy sky. She pretended not to hear him, and moved towards the Impala without looking over her shoulder. Arms crossed, eyes begging to cry, but a soul that wouldn't allow it. Dean caught up to her and reached out his hand to grab the top part of her arm.

She stopped, turning her head over her shoulder to look at him. His hand on her arm felt nothing like the hand of the man that grabbed her. Dean's grip was gentle, and as her eyes rose to meet his, she found them filled with reassurance. She felt no urge to pull herself away from his grasp.

"What happened back there?" Dean asked, not accusingly, but genuinely concerned. She turned the rest of her body to face him, keeping her arms crossed.

"Look I really don't need a lecture right now," she defended, looking up at him through the darkness. The parking lot was empty of most cars, a majority of people had fled at the sight of her scene. The moonlight reflected off Dean's forest eyes.

"Ellie if he touched you, you had every right to defend yourself. It was just wrong place, wrong time."

Ellie sighed with frustration and started to continue back towards the car, muttering under her breath, "I thought I said no lectures."

Dean caught up to her again and opened the car door for her to get into the passenger seat. He walked around to the other side and climbed in next to her, still determined to ease her nerves somehow.

"You didn't do anything inherently wrong. Just scared a few people is all," Dean continued, trying to reassure her. His emotional sensitivity picked up how upset Ellie was. Embarrassment practically charged the particles in the air around her. She leaned her elbow against the window and rested her head on her hand. Dean tried once more to sooth her. "You shouldn't feel bad for defending yourself."

"I just want to go back to the hotel, where's Sam?" Ellie's voice cracked as she tried to change the subject. Dean sighed but chose to comply.

"He's making sure that asshole doesn't call the cops."

Ellie rest her chin on her folded hands and let out a long, heavy sigh. She didn't imagine that Dean would be the one to follow after her; comforting others seemed more like Sam's forte. Sam was likely trying to keep his distance now, some meager effort to prove to Dean that he wasn't interested in Ellie.

"The verdict is that Capricorn's in the desert," Ellie choked out, trying to shift her train of thought.

"Did the creep happen to mention which one? We're kind of surrounded by desert."

"He mentioned the area near our hotel, specifically," she continued, now swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Looks like we got lucky," Dean replied, sounding hopeful for the first time in awhile.

"Either that or he's following me."

Dean turned his head to look at her, but her eyes were still staring out at the parking lot.

"Hey," He said, somewhat firmly. Without lifting her head from her hands, she rotated a bit to look at him. "You've got enough on your plate right now," Dean began, "Don't worry about Capricorn tonight, we'll deal with him tomorrow. Tonight you should just get some rest and get yourself prepared."

"How am I supposed to relax when I know that tomorrow is the day I've been waiting my whole life for?" Ellie asked, genuinely hoping that he might have an answer, but knowing he wouldn't. "How could I rest when I know that tonight could quite possibly be my last night on earth?"

Last night on earth. The phrase struck a hidden nerve with Dean. He remembered Jo and Ellen saying those exact words the night before they died. Dean opened his mouth to speak, but Sam climbed into the back seat before he could express the thought.

"You okay?" Sam asked Ellie as he situated himself. She nodded.

"Everything taken care of?" Dean questioned.

"The guy passed out before I could even talk to him. I doubt he'll remember much tomorrow."

Dean started the engine and filled Sam in while they drove back to the hotel. As they pulled up to a parking spot, Ellie turned to Dean with her chocolate eyes. Her eyebrows knit together, the expression of regret overtaking her face.

"Hey," She said softly to him. Dean looked over at her as he pulled the emergency break with a click. She forced a soft smile onto her lips. "Thank you." He gave her a slight nod of reassurance, now somewhat happy that she had accepted his attempts at comfort.

All three emerged from the car and went to their respective hotel rooms. Sam took a shower to rid himself of the bar smells, and Dean turned on the old box TV. After a few minutes of channel surfing, he still couldn't get Ellie out of his head. He thought she might need some space, but the few short minutes he had spent browsing the tv surely must have been long enough. He needed to check on her, make sure she was still okay. Without bothering to turn off the screen, Dean stood up from the edge of his bed and knocked on Ellie's door.

"Hey," Dean said through the door. "I thought you might want some company."

He waited for an answer, but there was no response. Perhaps she had already fallen asleep, she was surely exhausted from the events of the night. He knocked once more.

"Ellie?" Dean called softly as he slowly creaked the door open. There was no answer to be heard apart from breathless quiet. He opened the door wider to find her room empty, her bed still neatly made as it was when they arrived.

"Hey Sam?" Dean called over his shoulder. "Do you know where Ellie went?"

"No idea," Sam shouted from inside the shower. "…She's not in her room?"

"No, she's not," Dean said, now finding himself somewhat worried about her. "I'm gonna look around, see if I can find her." Dean snatched his jacket off the bed and made his way out the door.

He sauntered around the hotel, leisurely making his way through the lobby, kitchen, sitting area, trying to see which room was graced with Ellie's presence. Dean thought that he should probably be more worried than he was, but a part of him knew that Ellie – bold though she may be – would not be stupid enough to take off on a hunt alone. Wherever she was, her rifle was near, and she would be close enough to make sure they could hear her scream. He kept reassuring himself that she couldn't have gone far.

Dean wandered out the front door of their hotel and strolled around the edge of the building. The night air nipped a bit, but was warm enough for him to not need the light coat he was carrying. He soon became aware of a rippling light further ahead; likely reflecting off an outdoor pool. Dean headed towards its direction, hoping he might find Ellie.

As he approached the light source, he came upon the large pool belonging to the hotel. With the night air chilled as it was, there did not appear to be any swimmers. But before moving on, he caught a glimpse of Ellie's watery silhouette beneath the surface. Dean - not wishing to disturb her – took a seat in one of the sun chairs beside the pool. He was relieved to have found her, yet slightly concerned that she seemed so unguarded. A towel sat on the chair next to him, and he lifted it slightly to see Ellie's rifle nestled safely beneath it. He was somewhat surprised that she let herself be even a few yards away from it, given the circumstances.

Ellie sat cross-legged at the bottom of the pool, midnight hair swirling around her like a dark cloud. She was blissfully unaware of Dean's presence, relishing in a few moments of solitude. The deprivation of oxygen soothed her nerves and slowed her heartrate into submission; she had sat beneath the surface for nearly a minute now. She enjoyed the way the bitter cold water held her body, enveloped her in its arms. It was a temporary peace though, as her lungs began to gradually grow tight with desire for air. Ellie finally stretched out her legs and pushed herself from the bottom, torpedoing towards the surface.

As she softly gasped for air, she pushed her sopping hair back from her face and opened her eyes.

"What do you want, Dean?" She said with a frustrated sigh, noticing him in her peripheral vision but refusing to look in his direction. Still recovering from her embarrassment, she needed to cope alone.

"You really shouldn't be out here all by yourself, you're a sitting duck for Capricorn."

Ellie sighed and rolled her eyes a bit. "You know, maybe just one time tonight you can open your mouth and not say something critical." She turned her back to him and started to neatly pile her hair on top of her head. Dean's shoulders sank a bit.

"That's not what I meant…We were worried about you."

"Why?" She asked, somewhat accusingly. "You know I can handle myself." She kept her back turned and continued to fidget with her hair, tying it up with the hair-tie on her wrist.

"Is it really that hard to believe that we might care about you?" Dean raised his voice slightly. She got under his skin a bit. It seemed she was always pushy, always overconfident. She made him feel defensive. The way she treated him made him feel somewhat electrified. Ellie turned back towards him and swam to the edge of the pool.

"You only met me last week. So yeah, I do find it kind of hard to believe. I mean I wanted you to accept me and all but I told you straight away I don't expect you to be my friends or to trust me or anything. And that especially meant that I don't expect – nor do I want - you to babysit me."

"What's so bad about us trusting you?" Dean asked, frustrated and getting heated. "What's wrong with us calling you a friend? I thought that's what you wanted!" He rose from his chair, now standing with his arms crossed.

Ellie stretched out her arms to lift herself from the pool, her dripping body rising from the water. She walked over to Dean in a huff, not stopping until her face was just inches away from his. He could feel the heat of her temper emanating from her body. She glared at him with piercing eyes.

"I thought everyone who gets close to you gets hurt," she said, a scowl on her face. Dean frowned uncomfortably and looked away from her, realizing she had heard his conversation with Sam in the car. After a moment of thought, his eyes reunited with hers.

"Give us a chance to prove that isn't true."

Ellie crossed her arms and scoffed. "I'm not going to be your little experiment! If everyone who gets close to you gets hurt, you're lucky I'm still working with you two in the first place, I'm only here for your hunting skills, I'm not here for friendship," she blazed, taking a couple steps back from him as she did so. The words escaped without a thought, sharp as knives. She knew from the moment Dean opened the door for her that she wanted a home with them. She felt in her gut that she had found people who accepted her, which was a rare first in her life. And yet she felt so defensive, so angry, so upset that he had called her a friend.

People who were close to the Winchesters probably did get hurt, but that was not why she wanted to keep her distance. After all, she had already been fighting the world's deadliest beings for years. Fear was not what urged her to stay away. It was mercy that moved her to shut them out. Truthfully, she knew that by getting too close to her, the Winchesters would be the ones in harm's way, and she was done with letting good people get hurt.

"Just give us a chance," Dean continued, his voice interrupting her thoughts. "We can protect you!"

Ellie started to take another step back, her brain too deep in thought to realize her heel was at the edge of the pool.

"ELLIE!" Dean shouted, seeing her about to fall in. He reached out to grab her arm before realizing he was going to be dragged down with her. With an enormous splash, both fell backwards into the pool. The cold of the water knocked the wind out of Dean and undid Ellie's hair. They both quickly surfaced in synchrony, Ellie's mascara looking more smeared than earlier. After a brief moment of silence, Ellie finally looked at him, a calmness about her now.

"You really want to protect me?" She asked with genuineness. Dean nodded.

"Look I didn't realize you heard us that day. We weren't trying to scare you."

"It's okay, I shouldn't have been eavesdropping." Ellie smiled a bit to herself. "Do you really think I'm beautiful?" She teased a bit. Dean stretched back his hand to rub the nape of his neck slightly. Ellie observed his muscles flex as he did so. He looked her up and down.

"Does anyone NOT think you're beautiful?" Dean flirted with his usual smirk. Ellie flashed a smile and moved slightly closer to him. Her black bikini begged for his attention. She was near enough for him to see the beads of water trickling down her neck and chest. His eyes wandered to her red lips before remembering what Sam had told him. Don't screw this up.

"We should probably get back inside, I know Sam was worried," Dean said, breaking the moment of tension. Ellie did not care about Sam in this moment. As much of a connection as she had felt with Sam, he had turned her down. He straight up said he didn't want anything with her. So why should she care? It was clear he didn't.

Dean, on the other hand, she didn't care if she connection with. Rebellious, well built, tempermental. He was undeniably hot. A gorgeous man - who had already admitted to finding her attractive – was right there in front of her. And this man had been gentle with her all evening. Perhaps he had _bad idea_ written all over him. But it was only a night. In this moment, there was a soaking wet, incredibly hot man right in front of her. It wasn't like she was going to say no to him. This was Dean. The definition of "No strings attached."

"Ellie?" Dean's words filtered back into her mind, and she broke out of her trance. She had been staring at him like a predator stalking her meal. "Let's go."

Ellie's endorphins slowed at his disinterest, bringing her back down from her fantasies.

"Yeah, you're right," she reluctantly agreed.

They both climbed out of the pool and Dean wrapped Ellie's towel around her shoulders. She started walking back towards the hotel door while Dean grabbed her rifle from the chair and followed her. Both stopped in front of Ellie's room.

"Well, this is my room," Ellie said awkwardly, like Dean didn't already know. She was distracted by his pecks that were showing through his wet shirt.

Dean nodded, not exactly knowing what to say, but wanting to stretch out the moment. His usual quick-wittedness around women somehow vanished with Ellie, like her confidence was powerful enough to render him useless.

"And that's your room," Ellie continued, gesturing to the door next to hers. She intended for it to imply _So why aren't you going to your room?_

"Yeah and that's you" Dean said with a seductive smile, looking her up and down. Ellie expected him to say goodnight to her. He should've started walking away by now, but she was too distracted by his wet hair, his piercing green eyes, and his muscular arms to notice.

Dean's body stayed inches from hers, his eyes wandering her shivering torso, the beads of water dripping down her skin. His eyes landed on her swimsuit, briefly imagining how his hands could so quickly untie it.

"Well, I guess I should be going," Dean finally said. Ellie nodded. More awkward silence passed.

Without another word, Dean's full lips suddenly pressed to Ellie's, closing the gap between them. His mouth frantically and indulgently tangled with hers. His lips were like smooth melted chocolate against her chapped cranberry mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand grabbing his thick hair, and the other one digging into his back. He folded his arms around her waist, pressing her against her door. With one hand she reached back and fumbled with the door handle, refusing to part her lips from his. Finally, it swung open, and the two stumbled inside, breaking apart for a split second.

"I thought you said you didn't have time for romance." Dean smoldered as he untied her swimsuit top.

"Who ever called this romance?" Ellie flirted back as she ripped his shirt off. He gave a knowing smile that whispered to her " _just this once."_

Their bodies moved together: a pushing and pulling, a give and take, crimes of passion performed in harmony. They found their way to every piece of furniture in the room, every one of the four walls, before finally landing in Ellie's massive, neatly-made bed. Once breathless, they fell into a deep, luxurious sleep, bodies entwined together.

The following morning, Ellie woke to _Paranoid_ by Black Sabbath playing on the alarm clock radio. Instead of slamming the snooze, she rolled over, pulled her pillow over her head and groaned.

"What time is it?" She moaned from beneath the hotel linens. She felt Dean's weight shift on the bed beside her.

"Time to rise and shine, sweetie," Dean said, a cheeriness in his voice.

Ellie lifted the pillow off and rolled over, laying her head on the mattress. Her hair was thoroughly tangled, a consequence of the chlorine pool and the previous night's affairs. Dean secretly thought her messy curls were one of the more beautiful artifacts he had seen on a one night stand. She smiled at him, pulling the white sheets up over her bare chest. He smiled back, happy, completely satisfied in that moment.

"No seriously though, what time is it?" She asked again. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand and his eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh SHIT," Dean shouted, quickly jumping out of the bed and fumbling to put his jeans on.

"What? What is it?"

"What time did you set the alarm for?!" He asked, zipping up his pants and looking around for his shirt.

"I don't remember. Why?"

"Sam's awake and sent me about a million texts."

"Is he okay?"

"Oh he's fine! It's just that I left last night trying to find you and never came back to the room. He's freakin out, I have four missed calls."

"Oh shit," Ellie agreed, now sitting up in the bed. "You're not going to tell him, are you?" Dean looked at her with a " _duh"_ expression.

"No. Why would I?" He asked, pulling his shirt over his head. He turned to look at her. "Why do you care anyway?"

Ellie shrugged, some part of her wishing Dean had more time to stay. He quickly ran his hands through his hair and flashed a smile at her.

"Today's your day, Ellie. At least I was here to make sure you got up on the right side of the bed," He said, winking at her. She laughed a bit as he hurried out the door. Dean fumbled with his room key and quickly unlocked his room door, and burst in.

"Hey," Sam mumbled as he stepped out of the bathroom, toothbrush in his mouth.

"Hey, I found Ellie!" Dean said, quite chipper. Sam raised an eyebrow at him and then turned to spit in the sink.

"Well where was she? Is she okay?" He asked, concerned.

"Oh yeah, she's fine!"

"Dean, you were gone all night."

"Well I just found her this morning."

"Huh…." Sam nodded, not buying the story. "You seem quite awake for someone who didn't get any sleep last night." Dean swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Look if you're gonna pry, I found Ellie at the hotel bar, met another girl there, and then spent the night with her," he gracefully lied. He didn't completely understand Ellie's motives for not telling Sam. But Dean knew that Sam would have beef with him if he knew the truth.

"Well you could've just told me that." Sam accepted the lie, relieved that it was just Dean being Dean.

"I didn't think I was obligated to share those kind of details!" Dean snapped. He should've stopped while he was ahead.

"You're acting weird, Dean," Sam said with suspicion in his voice.

"Weird? I'm not acting weird, YOU'RE acting weird. What's with the third degree?" Dean defended. He crossed his arms and subtly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Sam didn't answer his question, but reluctantly changed the subject.

"Have you seen Ellie this morning?" Sam asked as he pushed past Dean and began to pack up his belongings. Before Dean could answer, Ellie swung open their conjoined door without notice.

"Morning boys," She said, walking through the door with a smile. She hadn't bothered to fix her hair from the previous night, but just wore it in a practical ponytail high on her head. She wore the unofficial uniform of hunters: flannel shirt with a pair of beat up jeans. Dean flashed her a smile, which she noticed, but felt no need to return. She walked over to Sam and straightened his shirt without asking permission, brushing some dust off his shoulder.

"Today's the day, do we have a plan?" Ellie asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the unmade bed.

"You're asking us, you're the expert here," Dean said, shifting the lead over to her. An expression of concentration overtook her features.

"Well, I know that Capricorn prefers dark, enclosed spaces. The fact that he made an appearance like he did before - in the open in broad daylight - was incredibly bold of him… I think he knows we're here for him."

"You don't say?" Dean sarcastically remarked. Sam shot him a subtle look of disapproval.

"I think our best bet is to probably just drive out there and try to find someplace dark and sheltered in an otherwise bright and open desert. It might take some time." Ellie continued, frowning a bit.

"Alright, let's head out," Sam said, smiling at Ellie. He took note of the way her hair curled tightly in the pieces that fell out of her ponytail. He caught a slight whiff of the chlorine smell that emanated from her skin. He wondered for a moment where it came from, since Dean said she had spent the evening at the bar, but the thought was too fleeting to hold onto.

The morning sun beat down on the dark roof of the Impala, making the temperature inside of the car rise rapidly. Ellie leaned her head against the back seat window, watching the dust clouds that the tires kicked up along the way. They had driven several miles into the desert, looking out for any location shrouded in darkness. Sam sat in the passenger seat, eyes scanning over a paper map of the desert that he had printed out at the hotel. He had chosen a map from the 1920s, back when a railroad was still running through the area. He hoped to find some abandoned building in the middle of this wilderness, figuring that would probably be their best bet.

Dean drove straight towards the horizon, as he had been for the last few hours, waiting on instructions from Sam. Every now and then they'd make a sharp turn and arrive where some old factory should have been, but with rubble being the only thing left of these old buildings, they weren't having much luck. Dean felt as though they were on some wild goose chase and wished desperately that they were back in a place with better air conditioning.

"Hey I think I've got something," Sam said hopefully. This was the 4th or 5th time he'd sounded hopeful in the last couple hours, so no one seemed particularly optimistic about whatever he found.

"I swear if this is just another pile of dust, we're going back into town to get some food. I'm starving," Dean said with frustration. Ellie let out a small sigh from the back seat. As desperate as she was to complete this ongoing mission, her stomach was also grumbling.

"It won't be, I'm sure this time." Sam gripped the map tighter, crumpling the edges a bit where his hands held it. He squinted at a point on the page. "There used to be a well somewhere out here, near where the railway was. I doubt it's been used in years, I didn't see it on any of the recent maps. It's probably empty."

"Hm." Ellie furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought. "That's probably gonna be our best shot. But even if it is still there, and even if it is empty, we'd still have to wait until at least sunset, otherwise the light will be shining straight down into it. And it'll be a hell of a struggle trying to turn something underground into a trap, but still… sounds like our best shot."

"How far away are we?" Dean asked, still driving straight ahead.

"Doesn't look like more than a few miles." Sam traced his finger over the route they would take.

"Guess the burgers will have to wait then," Dean groaned, and pressed on the gas a little harder. He reached across Sam and dug through the glovebox before pulling out the AC/DC album he had tried to listen to while Ellie was driving. Dean cranked up the volume as _Hells Bells_ played through the stereo.

It was deep, it was dark, it was empty, and it was damp. The well was covered in stones on all sides, easily plunging 50 feet into the ground. The remains of some wooden structure lie dusty around the gaping hole, rusting nails sticking out of some of the pieces. The angled sun slightly shined into the well, brightening it up just enough to keep Capricorn away – for now. It was the only dark place they could find in at least a 15 mile radius. This is where he would show himself, and Ellie was now certain of it.

Ellie sat on the edge of the well, feet dangling over into the abyss. Her eyes scanned her journal, the many detailed pages of information she had gathered on these creatures. Now that they knew where Capricorn would show himself, all they had to do was find a way to keep him there long enough to end him

Sam sat on the edge of the well next to her, in a similar position. He read a few pages of lore he found online the night before. Since Dean had been gone, he didn't really know what else to do except research. He couldn't find much, but printed out what he could find. He wanted to help Ellie as much as he could.

Dean leaned against the edge of the Impala, watching the two nerds crowding around their literature and relaxing dangerously close to that 50 foot drop. He ate a stale granola bar that he found somewhere in the Impala. Sam had likely left it there months ago, but Dean was so hungry he'd eat just about anything at this point.

The wind blew gently and Sam caught another whiff of chlorine coming from Ellie's hair. It perplexed him enough that he spoke without a thought.

"Did you go swimming last night?"

"Yeah, I did," Ellie answered, without looking up from her journal. Suddenly she paused and looked up at him. "Wait – how did you know that?"

"Oh it was just… your hair, it smelled like chlorine," Sam said, gesturing towards her.

"You were smelling my hair…?"

"Wh- No! No of course not, the wind was just - "

Ellie interrupted him with a laugh and went back to reading her journal. "I'm just teasing you."

Sam gave a half smile, a little more comfortable now that she was joking. "It's just that Dean said you were at the bar last night."

Ellie's pupils dilated at his comment. Within ear-shot, Dean overheard their conversation, and now hurried over.

"Hey Sam, we might need more bullets. I think Ellie taught you how to make them?"

Dean said it like a question, but didn't wait for Sam's answer before continuing.

"So we're going to need you to go into back to the hotel and start carving some more, kapeesh?" Dean requested, tossing Sam the car keys which nearly fell into the well as he fumbled to catch them.

"Why can't you go? I thought you were hungry," Sam asked, though it sounded like more of an accusation. He already knew somewhere in the back of his mind what had happened the previous night, and that Dean just wanted him out of there to avoid that confrontation.

"Because I only know how to make demon bullets and witch bullets and we don't have time for Ellie to show me how to make astrological ones. The sun is setting in a few hours, if you leave now you should be back just after dark."

Sam looked confused and frustrated, but finally gave a sigh and headed towards the car. Once he was situated in the front seat, Ellie shot Dean a dirty look.

"What the hell was that all about? Protective much?" Ellie demanded, raising her voice a bit. Dean sat down on the side of the well next to her and picked up Sam's papers.

"He was going to find out about last night, I saved your ass – and mine."

"It was a one night stand, Dean. Feel free to forget it ever happened. I didn't need you swooping in like that, I can take care of myself. And you made it way more obvious than if you had just let me handle it on my own."

"Look I know why I'm not planning on telling Sam about last night but why do you care do much?" Dean asked, somewhat interrogating.

"It's nothing," Ellie grumbled, but the flush in her cheeks gave her away.

"Oh, okay." Dean said matter-of-factly, and turned to look back at his papers.

"What?" Ellie whined, somewhat frustrated.

"You and Sam?" Dean smirked. Ellie rolled her eyes, growing more irritated with him.

"There's no me and Sam," she huffed.

"But you wish there was," Dean teased. The idea of his brother and Ellie was not a new one, and had entered his mind at several points on the road so far. In fact, he was nearly comfortable with the idea. Though, he admitted to himself that some part of him was jealous.

"Just shut up and focus on the case. It's none of your damn business."

Ellie's words came out more harsh than Dean had expected, but he understood given the situation that he may have pushed her a bit too far. She had a lot bottled up that he had yet to uncover, and maybe someday he would, but now was not the time nor place. He went back to shuffling through Sam's papers, looking for some solution. Seconds turned into minutes, and a half hour later the sun was beginning to grow close to the horizon.

"I think I have an idea."

Dean spoke for the first time in awhile, which startled Ellie for a moment. She lifted her eyes towards him, intent on listening to whatever idea he had to offer.

"Yes?" She said, impatient.

"You're not gonna like it but I think it's our best shot," Dean grumbled, avoiding Ellie's eyes.

"Well what is it?" She demanded.

"When we saw Capricorn a few days ago, he disappeared whenever you shot at him, and we lost him. The only way he's going to show himself near enough for us to get a hit on him is if he thinks he has the high ground – if he thinks that you're vulnerable."

"Okay….and…?"

"And in order to set up a trap, we need bait."

It took Ellie's brain a moment to process what Dean was implying.

"What? That's a horrible idea, why are we even discussing this?" Her voice cracked, but was filled with defensiveness.

"If he sees you with a gun, he's going to teleport just like he did out there on the road. I'll be right there with you the whole time, you'll be perfectly safe," Dean continued, setting aside Sam's papers and standing up from the edge of the well.

"Dean… I don't know about this." Ellie's usual bravery was flickering. The thought of being trapped in some pit, in some hole in the ground with that beast… it was much more than she had bargained for.

"Look I saw you out there when you faced him. You were brave and bold and totally badass. What's different now?"

"The fact that you want to lower me defenseless into a six foot diameter hole where we know Capricorn is going to appear. I won't have a weapon, and I won't have you with me."

Dean reached out a hand and helped Ellie up from the ground. His voiced changed tone completely, becoming suddenly soothing and protective.

"I'll be with you the whole time, I promise. The only way he's not going to teleport away is if he thinks you're unarmed."

Ellie's mind rehearsed the idea over and over again. Words like _bait_ and _unarmed_ and _trapped_ swam through her mind. A part of her deep down wondered if the only way to truly stop Capricorn would be to trap herself with him, and that was the conclusion they were coming to. They had spent forever quietly brainstorming ideas, but the sky was now red, informing them that they were entirely out of time.

"….Okay. What do you want me to do?"

Dean smiled and began to shuffle through a bag of supplies he had grabbed from the Impala. He began to gather materials as he explained to her the relatively simple plan: he lowers her down in the well, Capricorn appears, and Dean unloads his gun at the beast before he can touch Ellie. Dean would stand guard the whole time, hanging onto a rope to pull Ellie up if something went wrong.

Ellie nodded along to the whole idea, the flares of adrenaline somewhat exciting her. Still, it would be the most terrifying thing she had ever done. Though she could only imagine the tales she would tell her cousin when it was all over. The stories she wished she could have shared with Jo.

"You sure about this?" Dean asked Ellie. He waivered with his own idea. He knew that he should be doing this because he wanted to see her succeed, to see her catch the monster she had spent her whole life pursuing. And a part of him _did_ wish that for her. But a part of him also wanted to be the hero, to rescue her from the monster, have her cling to him with relief as he yanked her out just in time. And all of him – every atom of his being – wished to protect her, however this all played out.

"You don't want to wait for Sam?" Ellie asked. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other. Dean looked down at his watch, squinting through the darkness.

"If you really want to we can wait, I didn't realize the sun was going to set so early. But in my honest opinion we need to get this done sooner than later."

Ellie nodded. It had not been long since Sam had left, and he likely hadn't even reached town yet. Dean had dismissed him so quickly, assuming it was a short errand, but Ellie knew that those bullets – when carved properly – could take hours to make. She nodded in agreement with Dean.

"Alright. Take me down."

As he began to lower her down into the well, Dean smiled to Ellie in an attempt at comfort.

"Hey. I _promise_ I'll protect you."

Hours passed as Dean sat on the edge of the well, cross-legged on the ground. He held his rifle near to his chest, staring down into the hole, waiting for Capricorn to make his grand entry. Part of him already regretted sending her down there. It was too risky. His hands fidgeted with the rope laying next to him, nervous about how quickly he would be able to yank Ellie out of there. His train of thought was interrupted by a loud moan echoing across the dry desert.

Dean immediately lept to his feet, eyes scanning the horizon. Surely he was not hearing things. The desert appeared empty, and suddenly felt like a container that him and Ellie were trapped in. He thought in that moment of how he should not have sent Sam away for such superficial reasons. He would be the detriment of Ellie's hunt for no other reason than jealousy. They really could have used that extra set of hands, and Dean felt vulnerable without Sam there watching his back. Dean already regretted his decision, though no consequences from it had yet occurred. He continued to turn 360 degrees, eyes on the horizon, looking for the source of the spine-chilling moan.

Then he saw him.

Far on the horizon, Dean could make out a large and tall shadow figure. Though he had only seen him once, he knew it to be Capricorn. He lifted the scope of his rifle to his eye but as soon as his finger barely brushed the trigger, Capricorn pulled his teleportation act.

Dean lowered his gun and spun around frantically, anxiously trying to see where Capricorn would reappear.

Suddenly it was behind him. Dean could feel it breathing down his neck.

In less than a second Dean whirled around, ready to shoot, but he vanished. Again. Dean was growing anxious now, stressed, worried. He felt as though Ellie were likely safer than he was in that moment. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. He spotted it again, prepared to shoot again, even started walking in his direction, but only seconds after he appeared, he disappeared once more. Again, and again, and again Capricorn taunted him.

Dean was growing frustrated. Suddenly another moan. He whirled around to his right, prepared to shoot, when he realized the moan was coming from the Impala. Sam was returning from his errand.

Sam pulled up next to Dean in the Impala and rolled down the window.

"What are you doing?! Where's Ellie?!" Sam asked frantically. Dean, still calm, turned around and pointed.

"She's just in-…"

The well was no longer right behind Dean. In fact, the well was no longer in sight.

"Where is it?!" Dean shouted, spinning around and searching.

"Where's what?"

"THE WELL!"

"Dean… The well is half a mile away, what are you doing out here?"

Suddenly Dean realized that he was the one being baited. In his frenzy to shoot Capricorn he had been lured away from Ellie. Each one of his few steps towards Capricorn had quickly added up, and without notice, he had left her alone.

"We need to get back to the well. NOW," Dean ordered as he climbed in the passenger seat of the Impala.

"Wait…where did you leave Ellie?"

Ellie huddled in a corner of the well, arms wrapped around her knees in the fetal position. It was empty of water, cold, damp, and wider than she felt a well should be. It was so dark, so quiet. The starlight coming from the top of the shaft was the only light by which she could see. She could hear her own breaths echoing off the stones.

And then there was another set of breaths.

Heavy, deep. It carried the resonance of something too big to be human. All of the bravery suddenly leeched from her body and into the stone against her back. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck and chills ran down her spine. She dare not breathe. Only remain still.

The hollow breaths ceased.

"Dean?" She whispered under her breath, praying that it was only him. She hoped that maybe he had realized how stupid it was to use her as bait. Maybe, if she was lucky, he was going to pull her out of the well and into the cold night air. Maybe he would rescue her.

But there was no answer.

Her eyes began to adjust to the darkness and under the starlight she managed to make out a figure. It was the embodiment of darkness itself, and she knew it was there for her.

Capricorn.

"Dean?!" She said out loud, her voice in a talking tone. She needed him to hear her. She needed him to get her out of there now, to close the trap where she was held. She was not waiting for the sound of a gun or for him to decide how long she should be kept in that pit, she needed out, and she needed out now.

But still. There was no answer. Capricorn just stood across the well, staring at her through its skull. Fear rippled through her body. Her heart pounded in her ears. Panic began to take her over.

"SAM?!" She screamed. She didn't even think about that one. Sam was probably still miles away where he should be, making more bullets engraved with symbols for a death sentence. She wished Dean had never sent him away. He never would've approved of using Ellie as bait, and Dean knew better than to approach the idea while he was still present. Still, as abandoned as she felt, Ellie hoped that there would be some Winchester there to pull her to safety and out of this darkness. She didn't care what made sense or not, she was in a panic now. She needed out.

It stood. Still staring.

Ellie launched into a full blown panic. She began to scream.

"HELP ME! PULL ME UP! PULL ME UP! HELP ME!" She grabbed the rope that was supposed to lift her up and tugged on it forcefully, trying to pull herself up. It fell into the hole like a limp string, nothing grounding it on the other end. No human there to rescue her. Her whole body shook violently as she turned around.

Its hot breath was against her face. It was as if it had teleported across the room while her back was turned. Capricorn's eerie dark holes seemed to gaze into her soul, forcing her heart to beat at unnatural rates.

"ELLIE!"

His voice rang out like bells on Christmas morning. The pure embodiment of hope. She lifted her eyes to meet Sam's as he frantically started lowering down a new rope. Dean's head popped over the edge of the well shortly after, a panicked look flaring in his eyes.

"PULL ME UP! PULL ME UP!" Ellie's shaking hands fumbled to grab the rope. An eerie moaning sound came from right beside her ear.

She felt two clawed hands rest on her shoulder.

It was no longer words she was forming. She couldn't speak through the blind fear. She could feel Capricorn's long nails barely brush where he had scarred her so many months ago. She didn't recall when she had started sobbing, but she was gasping for air now, her body shaking, incomprehensibly screaming in terror.

She gripped the rope as tight as she could, and began her ascent to safety.

One tug was all it took. Her feet had barely lifted off the ground when Capricorn wrapped his bony limbs around her waist, and dug his claws into her stomach.

Ellie screamed out in pain and he tried pulling her down, but the Winchesters yanked back harder. She finally escaped his grip, and was pulled to safety.

Sam grabbed Ellie under her arms and lifted her out of the well and onto solid ground. With Ellie now safe, Dean frantically grabbed for his gun, still focused on killing Capricorn. He quickly loaded the bullets and aimed down the well. His heart throbbed, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. Peering through the scope of the rifle, he now saw that well was completely empty. Capricorn had already made his escape. All he could see through the scope was Ellie's blood running down the stone wall, and that's when the fear finally kicked in.

He whirled around to see Ellie, who was pressed tightly against Sam. She leaned into him as if he were a shelter that could protect her from anything. Sam had one arm protectively wrapped around her shoulders, stabilizing her, trying to make sure she wasn't going to pass out or fall over. Ellie was hyperventilating. She choked on tears. Her whole body shook. The familiar warmth of Sam was her only comfort. It was the only thing that felt safe. The adrenaline coursing through her veins postponed the onset of pain, but caused the rest of her body to remain in a state of hysteria. Her thoughts were rapid, her brain blindly trying to process what events had just unfolded. Still holding Ellie tightly, Sam glowered at Dean.

"What did you do?" Sam demanded, his voice doused in aggression. He knew Ellie wouldn't have gone down there on her own, defenseless, out of her own free will. Ellie's tears were soaking into his shirt and onto his skin, her fear soaking in with them. She was still so brave. She deserved so much better than this.

Dean dare not let his eyes meet his brother's. Instead they wandered the sun-bleached dirt beneath his shoes, searching for some answer. All Dean was trying to do was keep their promise: to catch Capricorn and keep Ellie safe. He only turned away for a moment. He wasn't supposed to get so far, she wasn't supposed to get hurt. It wasn't supposed to happen like this, the plan in itself was harmless.

"I did what needed to be done!" Dean shouted, defensively, though he knew he was in the wrong. Sam's scowl intensified.

"And yet you accomplished absolutely nothing except hurting Ellie!"

"I was trying to help her!" Dean yelled back, "I was trying to keep our promise – She agreed to go down there! She wanted-"

" – She wanted to catch Capricorn, Dean. She would've agreed to anything that could've accomplished that, and you know that…"

"She's FINE."

Ellie suddenly pulled away from Sam's side and stumbled several yards away before vomiting. The adrenaline was finally starting to wear off, and her body was struggling to come back down from her point of terror. Dean's eyes finally met Sam's. Guilt began to jab at his conscience, and he decided to go talk to her. Dean began the short walk in her direction, listening to the gravel crunch beneath his shoes. Part of his mind was screaming at himself, ashamed of what he had done. It was the action of a villain: subjecting someone to their greatest fear, completely defenseless. The other part of his brain kept reassuring him she was fine. Ellie was fine. She'd be okay.

"I just wanted to make sure that you're okay." The words spilled from Dean's mouth as he approached Ellie. This was his first close look at her since he had lowered her into the well. She was covered head to toe in dirt, her eyes were wide, her body shaking in fear. He knew before she answered that she was very far from okay.

"Okay?….Okay? How the HELL is that even a question? You were supposed to protect me, Dean Winchester. You were supposed to keep me safe, you promised!" Her voice cracked as she choked on her tears. "You used me…"

Dean hated the word "used." It implied that he had somehow taken advantage of her. With guilt flooding his heart and no one to blame but himself, he answered without thinking.

"Stop acting like a child."

"I STOPPED BEING A CHILD THE MOMENT YOU SENT ME DOWN THERE TO DIE!" She screamed, throwing a punch at his pristine face and landing it right above his left brow.

Dean stumbled back, fingers pinching at the wound she had inflicted.

"What the hell, why is he bleeding?" Sam ran over to his brothers side and gave Ellie a panicked glance. Clearly, he had missed all the action.

"BECAUSE HE'S AN IDIOT!" Ellie shouted, her voice cracking as tears made lines in her dirt-covered skin. She wrapped her arms around her torso tightly as if to hold herself in, keep herself from breaking.

"I didn't realize idiocy caused people to spontaneously bleed from their face," Sam sarcastically remarked, still glued to Dean's side. Instinct would always move him to defend his brother, no matter how pissed he was. Dean glanced up, making eye contact with Ellie for the first time since she landed her punch.

"It's a new phenomenon," she muttered under breath. The sobs came quietly. Ellie tried to maintain her composure, but couldn't hold in her tears. She couldn't believe he had used her like he had. As bait for the monster which horrified her and haunted her nightmares. She turned her back, and began to walk away in a haste. As she walked, she wrapped her arms tighter around her middle, hoping to put some pressure on the wounds which were now dripping with blood. She knew not where she was going, but she kept walking.

The blood began to soak through her shirt.

"Ellie!" Sam shouted after her. Ellie refused to look over her shoulder, knowing that those hazel eyes of his could easily persuade her to walk back in their direction. She was at a far enough distance now that she could pretend she hadn't heard him, so she kept walking, despite the blood beginning to drip down her clothes.

Ellie didn't make it very far before her stomach dropped and everything began to spin. She didn't even realize she was falling until she felt her limp body collide with the ground.

"ELLIE" Sam shouted, now with more panic in his voice. Without thinking, he broke into a sprint in her direction. Dean's hand dropped from his forehead as he jogged behind Sam, blood starting to flow again from his wound.

Sam kneeled on the ground beside Ellie and cradled her head in his hands. "Ellie? Can you hear me?" With one hand he grabbed her wrist and tried to feel for a pulse, and how undetectable it was. His eyes wandered her body until they landed on her stomach. Hot red soaking through her cotton shirt.

"Dean," Sam muttered under his breath. His eyes didn't break away from Ellie's wounds. There was so much disappointment in his voice, in knowing that Dean had put her in this position. And a dash of fear flecked his speech, knowing that they may well lose the girl who had trusted them with her life.

Dean lacked words as his heart plummeted to his stomach. He swallowed, trying to keep emotions from welling up in his eyes. So much guilt weighted on his chest, he felt as though he could barely breathe, barely move. And so he stood. Watching, listening, trying to just keep breathing as he watched Sam try to patch up Ellie.

"Ellie, Ellie, I need you to open your eyes for me," Sam pleaded, gently holding Ellie's head in his hands. A barely-whisper came from her mouth.

"I can't," She breathed. A trace of hope flickered in the eyes of both Sam and Dean. Dean knelt down opposite of Sam, and grabbed her cold, pale hand in his.

"We're going to call an ambulance, Ellie, I just need you to stay with us, okay?" Dean begged, peering into Ellie's barely-open eyes. They began to close again, then Sam pulled her head into his lap.

"Hey hey hey," He said softly, beginning to brush her dark hair in a comforting manner. "I need you to keep talking to me, okay? How old are you, Ellie? When's your birthday?"

"36," She replied in a breathy voice. It took all of her energy to muster a response. Dean was back on his feet and frantically punching 911 into his phone. He held it to his ear, and looked out at the horizon.

"Great. 36. Now when is your birthday?"

"January 8th," She wimpered. Blood began to trickle from her mouth and her eyes rolled back into her head.

"Ellie? Ellie!" Sam shook her shoulder gently. "DEAN!"

"They're on their way!" Dean shouted. He turned around to see the unconscious Ellie, now lying in a pool of her own blood. "Oh god."

Sam scooped up Ellie into his strong arms and stood up.

"What are you doing?" Dean looked confused.

"We're already losing her, the ambulance isn't going to get here fast enough. I need you to drive." Sam began to jog towards the impala, Ellie's lifeless body dangling from his arms. Dean sprinted ahead and quickly unlocked Baby and started her engine, even revved it a bit. Sam laid Ellie across the back seats and knelt down in the small space next to her. He tried feeling for her pulse again as Baby's tires spun on the loose dirt, kicking up dust clouds, and Dean began to speed.

"Drive…DRIVE." Sam's voice intensified. He took off his outer flannel and began a weak attempt to sop up the blood coming from Ellie's stomach.

Dean was almost in a daze, a near out-of-body experience. His eyes flickered across the road and all he could think to himself was " _This is on me. If she dies, this is all my fault."_ A drop of blood fell from his forehead as an eerie reminder of what he had done. The sun was rising now, and the thought that she had already seen her last sunrise danced through his head.

A certain desperation flushed through him as he shouted, "CAS!" Yet, Dean knew he wouldn't come to rescue them. He wouldn't appear and heal Ellie with a holy touch. His grace was gone, he could not hear them, and he wasn't coming to save the day. Dean's eyes darted from side to side of the road, not focused as they had been in driving to that dusty part of the country. Now, there was panic.

Tires screeched as they entered the city and pulled up to the hospital. Sam lunged from the back seat of the Impala, Ellie dangling from his arms, and sprinted towards the entrance. All Spanish he knew escaped his mind as he ran to the front desk shouting at the receptionist, "HELP HER!"

Several nurses ran out with a stretcher and Sam lay her cold body gently on it, being careful not to bump her head. With mournful eyes he looked over her: her white shirt slick with dark red blood, her black hair matted and covered in dust, minor scrapes coating her arms and legs. He watched in distress as they wheeled her back into the ER, going down a corridor with signs that indicated emergency surgery. Dean jogged through the sliding glass doors moments after.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" He asked, desperate for an answer. A scowl crowded out Sam's soft facial features.

"No, Dean! She's not okay!" Sam shouted at him. "She's not okay because you put her in harm's way when she trusted us with her life!"

Dean's head spun, guilt crowding out his thoughts and emotions and tears finally pooling into his wide eyes.

There was nothing to do but wait. Wait for the doctors to sew up Ellie's wounds. Wait for Ellie to get out of surgery. Wait to see if she would even live through it or not. The Winchesters' attention heightened each time a doctor entered the waiting area. They were desperate for any news at all.

Sam and Dean did not speak in the many hours that passed where they waited for answers. Sam was not only angry with his brother, but in a way had pity on him. He knew how guilt like that felt, and he knew that Dean truly did not intend for Ellie to get hurt. Yet Sam's fear and anger dominated any pity he felt. All he could think of was Ellie's smile, the sound of her voice, her laughter, the scent of her hair. He tried to imprint it all into his mind in case he never got to experience it again. Memories of her repeated over and over again in his mind.

Dean's mind was completely devoid of any legible thought. Emotion was all that he could experience – his brain was overloaded with it, unable to process anything else. Among all the emotion he was feeling, hope was not one of them. He was nearly certain they were going to lose Ellie, just as they always lost everyone else. He was overwhelmed by defeat.

Doctors were going in and out of the room, and finally one headed in their direction. He communicated to Sam in Spanish, then Sam turned to Dean.

"She's out of surgery. He says we can see her."

Sam and Dean both eagerly leapt up from their seats and followed the doctor back to Ellie's room. Dean's hope flared up now. They knew she had survived surgery. He knew they would enter her room and see her smiling like always, victorious in her survival.

But that was not what they saw.

Ellie lay still on the hospital bed, still unconscious. A tube down her throat helped her to breathe, for she was unable to on her own. IVs were hooked up to her arm pumping fluids into her bloodstream. Her skin was nearly as white as the hospital gown she was clothed in, though she looked ashen in color.

Dean's heart sank. He could tell at a glance that her recovery would be a long one. Him and Sam both made their way to her bedside and sat down in two chairs next to her. Sam continued conversation with the doctor while Dean stretched out one hand to grab Ellie's.

"They're not sure how long it'll take her to wake up. He said that when she does, the recovery will be a few months at least." Sam crossed his arms as he relayed the information to Dean.

Dean sat very still, still holding Ellie's cold hand in his. Sam stood up from his chair and moved closer to her, kneeling down beside her.

"I don't know if you can hear me, Ellie, but it's Sam. Dean and I are both here." He gently brushed her dark hair from her forehead.

And she could hear him.

Somewhere in the darkness of her deep sleep, Ellie could make out Sam's voice. She could not move, could not speak, could not breathe, but was trapped in the silence and the stillness. Sam's voice was like a moonbeam in the night, and she clawed towards it desperately.

All of the monitors attached to Ellie began to beep violently, and Sam and Dean quickly raised their heads at the noise. Nurses and doctors flooded into the room and began to work on Ellie, forcing Sam and Dean away from her.

"What's happening?!" Dean demanded, though he knew the doctors couldn't understand him. One of the nurses began to speak to Sam as she un-taped the tube from Ellie's mouth.

"She says Ellie's fighting the chest tube," Sam said hopefully.

"That's good, right?"

Sam nodded. The doctors removed the tube from Ellie's throat and all of the machines calmed down. She was able to breathe on her own again.

Many hours passed waiting for Ellie to wake up. Apart from runs to get coffee or food, the Winchesters were both glued to her side. Not only were they all that she had, but they viewed her as being their responsibility, and their family. Though they had both been awake the whole night, Sam and Dean refused to sleep for fear that they would miss her waking.

It was almost a full 24 hours after her surgery when Ellie began to stir. Her weak body shifted slightly, her pulse rose to a normal rate, and her eyes barely cracked open.

"Hey," Sam's gentle voice beamed into her awareness like a calm light.

"Sam?" Ellie replied in a weak voice. She quivered, her eyes welling with tears, her mind still in the depths of the well. Sam grabbed her hand, with wires and monitors all attached, and held it in both of his.

"It's okay, don't move too much. How do you feel?" He asked. His face was solemn, filled with worry about Ellie. She was too overwhelmed to notice.

"He put me down there, Sam. He promised me he'd keep me safe- " She blurted out. She was winded by the sentence. Her torso ached with the effort of speaking and the strength it took to hold back sobs. Sam reached out to her and as gently as possible, wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her head against his chest and the sound of his heartbeat slowed hers back down.

"Shh… You're safe now … And happy birthday," He whispered to her. She let a small smile appear on her lips. His presence had a soothing effect on her, and his arms wrapped around her were even better. He gently leaned her back on the bed.

"Where's Dean?" Ellie asked, eyes scanning the room. She looked worried, but not nervous.

"Hey sweetheart." Dean stood in the doorway holding a bouquet of daisies from the hospital gift shop. Ellie gave him a weak smile. To both Sam and Dean's surprise, she perked up a bit at his presence. Dean sat down next to Sam and placed the flowers on Ellie's bedside table. "I am so, so sorry, Ellie."

"I forgive you," Ellie said without hesitation. Visible relief spread through Dean's body. "I mean, you're an idiot. And you almost got me killed… But I forgive you. I know you didn't intend for me to get hurt." Dean smiled a bit at the remark.

"We're still going to kill Capricorn," Dean responded, attempting to encourage her.

"Like hell we are," She snarled, clutching her bandaged torso as she sat up slightly. All of the machines attached to her started screeching as she moved.

"Hey, easy…" Sam soothed as he placed an extra pillow behind her back to prop her up a bit. Ellie coughed and leaned back, already drained of energy from the simple act of sitting up.

"Look. I think you're both wonderful men, but if you think I'm working with you two again after your dumb ideas nearly cost me my life, you are so wrong."

A nurse walked in holding a stack of papers, checked Ellie's vitals, then spoke something to Sam in Spanish.

"What's she asking?" Ellie asked, leaning over to Sam.

"Do you have someone you can stay with for a few weeks?"

"No, why?"

"You need someone to take care of you for a few weeks. Change your bandages, make sure you recover alright. If you don't have anyone they're going to have to keep you here until you make a full recovery."

"I sure as hell am not staying here!" Ellie huffed, crossing her arms.

Sam and Dean both looked at her with facial expressions that told Ellie all she needed to know.

"In that case, it looks like you'll be staying with us after all."

 **THE STORY WILL CONTINUE IN "THE WATER BEARER"**


End file.
